Royal British Legion award for Horncastle's Poppy Appeal Volunteer

​Local Poppy Appeal Organiser Julian Millington has received an award for his dedication to the Lincolnshire Poppy Appeal, beating 90 other Poppy Appeal Organiser volunteers.

The Sheppard Poppy Trophy is awarded each year by the Lincolnshire Royal British Legion (RBL) Lincolnshire County Committee.

Julian has been raising funds for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for more than ten years, and was chairman of the Horncastle & District Branch for seven of those, handing over the reins to Stewart Garner-Jones in September.

He said: “It is lovely to receive this award, however it is down to our wonderful team of volunteers.

"We have 20 volunteers who each year carry out house to house collections for the Appeal and we have also put out and collected 150 Poppy Appeal Tins.

"Horncastle & District Royal British Legion covers a very large area which extends as far as Wickenby airfield and Wragby, as well as all the outlaying villages. It just goes to show how well supported our area is by both our fantastic volunteers and the generosity of those who give, and I would like to thank everyone for their help and support.”

Julian said that in his tenure, he was most proud to have raised so much money for the RBL.

“In the ten years in the role, I am proud that in the first year we raised just over £9,000. In 2019 pre pandemic we reached £19,000 with the total increasing year on year.

"It fell back after lockdown but it now moving in the right direction. I couldn't do it without great support from other RBL members, my house to house people, those who help with the stall and the teachers at all the schools. It is a team effort.”

In between raising funds for the RBL, Julian and his wife Jane are volunteer car drivers for the Voluntary Car Service.