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NORTH EDITION
Your English Newspaper
roundtownnews.com
Issue 731
18-24 OCT 2013
Scenes from the parade
Poppy power with RBL by Jack Troughton COLOUR AND a little pomp and circumstance brought Benidorm to a halt on Wednesday as the Royal British Legion launched its 2013 Poppy Appeal. In a moving ceremony – marked with a minute’s silence and the playing of the Last Post – people were asked to “dig deep” as every cent would help support servicemen and
women and their families. And people living on the Costa Blanca were urged to “wear your poppy with pride” and help fill collection buckets to support the charity and its work. A parade along the Levante Beach to the Rincon was led by the Torrevieja Pipes and Drums, followed by the standards of the branches of the Royal British Legion District North Spain and other Armed Forces organi-
sations and Dutch Veterans. Marching at the rear of the parade were Legion members, joined by Spanish servicemen, and two Chelsea Pensioners dressed in their distinctive scarlet uniforms were cheered by the crowd. Last year District North Spain raised over 171,000€ in a record Poppy Appeal, money spent on a Royal British Legion welfare bill that tops £1.7 million a week.
SYMBOL The Royal British Legion was founded in 1921 to care for soldiers of the Great War and their families explained the RBL District North Spain Chairman Chris Wyatt – taking the poppy as its symbol. He said there were branches around the world, run by volunteers, caring “for life” for veterans growing ever younger. Continued on page 6