Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory was alive with activity as the near-five million poppies which are all made by hand by former Service personnel were loaded on to trucks to begin the journey to the four corners of the country ahead of the start of the 2018 Scottish Poppy Appeal…
This year’s event – which is known as the ‘National Uplift’ – was especially poignant as it marks the first time the public will get a chance to see the newly commissioned Centenary Poppy, which has the text ‘1918-2018’ embossed in gold across the traditional and iconic red paper poppy.
Charlie Pelling, Manager at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, said: “The National Uplift is always one of the biggest days of the year at the Factory, but it’s especially poignant that we are commemorating the Centenary with this stunning, unique poppy design.”
The Centenary Poppy is the single biggest design change of the poppy for more than a generation. The poppy has not altered much conceptually since its inception more than 90 years ago when it was created by Lady Haig – wife of Field Marshall Earl Haig – in 1926.
Mr Pelling added: “We have employed closed to 2,000 veterans over the years, the vast majority of whom suffered from some sort of life-limiting disability. The Factory provides a safe and supportive environment and it’s heartening to know that the lives of so many veterans have been transformed by their employment here.”
Gordon Michie, Head of Fundraising at Poppyscotland, said: “The National Uplift is a major milestone for us. It marks the culmination of a year of hard work by our veterans and means our biggest fundraiser is just around the corner.”
The Scottish Poppy Appeal is Scotland’s largest annual street collection. Around five million poppies and 60,000 collecting tins are distributed around Scotland ahead of the event in October and November. Around 10,000 volunteers get on board to do their bit for the cause.
