Portsmouth begins Remembrance Weekend with Guildhall ceremony as Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal vendors plea for support after 'lackluster' donations

As cannon fire from the naval base echoed across the city and heralded the two minutes’ silence, a crowd of more than 100 fell silent at the war memorials in Guildhall Square, marking the 104th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Father Bob White from St Mary’s Church in Fratton led the service, which saw performances from the Portsmouth Military Wives Choir, as well as Trafalgar School pupils reading from the diary of a First World War soldier.

While the ceremony was well attended according to returning veterans, one poppy badge seller reported a marked decline in donations to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

Brizz Miles-Knight, who has been selling the badges for the charity for more than a decade, said: ‘It’s been a little bit lacklustre this year. I think it’s the cost of living. It’s having an effect. And I can’t blame people really.

‘For myself, poppy sales have been down about 20 to 30 per cent. I would normally be on my third collection tin by now – I’m still on my first.’

‘We have struggled across Portsmouth. We have been getting requests from our poppy seller organisers to cover areas around the city.’

Despite a fall in sales for the longstanding appeal, commitment to honour the fallen remains strong, as evidenced by RAF veteran Frank Graham and his wife Lisa, who fixed a poppy to the Remembrance wall to honour her great uncle.

The Emsworth resident, who volunteers with her husband to maintain the war graves at the Highlands Road Cemetery, said: ‘My great uncle died in the Second World War – he was in the RAF, as a bomber pilot. He was shot down over Germany in June 1941.

‘We come down every year to pay our respects. This is our second year of putting the poppy on the wall. It’s an important thing to do.’

And the gestures of recognition large and small continue to resonate with veterans like Brian Furndell, a former member of the Royal Green Jackets.

Attending the ceremony, he said: ‘It’s good to see the turnout. It does make a difference.’

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The Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport will be holding a Remembrance Service on Sunday at about 10.30am as part of a joint event with the Gosport branch of the Submariners Association.

This service is open to the public and is also being livestreamed on social media at https://bit.ly/3A4usRp for those who cannot make it in person.

A total of 104 personnel from across the Royal Navy including Royal Marines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) will be taking part in the National Service of Remembrance on Sunday in London.

The parade will be accompanied by 51 members of the Royal Marines Band, with the parade’s participants hacing undergone training at HMS Excellent on Whale Island this week,