Ruby, 10, among youngest attendees to join veterans at 2024 Poppy Appeal launch

A 10-year-old girl was among the youngest attendees to join military veterans and service personnel to launch this year’s Poppy Appeal.

Ruby Sheffield, from the Midlands, has supported the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) Poppy Appeal since she was four years old and was inspired to start fundraising as her father serves in the Army.

She joined veterans and military families from different generations for a mindfulness session at St Katharine Docks Marina in Tower Hamlets, London, and a breakfast club at HMS President, the largest Royal Naval Reserve in the country, near Tower Bridge to mark this year’s Poppy Appeal launch on Thursday.

Ruby said: “Knowing that the Royal British Legion helps veterans like my dad, I really wanted to start fundraising to help other families.”

The Poppy Appeal aims to raise funds to offer financial, employment, housing and mental health support for the armed forces community and this year the RBL has set a fundraising target of £51.3 million.

The appeal, which was founded in 1921, hopes to raise awareness about the mental scars veterans live with following their experience in military service.

Baz Seymour, 47, from North Yorkshire, served in Iraq and sought help from the RBL after living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“I was a ticking time bomb. We have to break down the stigma of mental health,” he said.

Tony Routledge, 62, was a Royal Signals Bombardier but was injured in Iraq and suffered depression.

Mr Routledge, from Catterick, North Yorkshire, said he threw his medals in a river during a mental health crisis, but credited the RBL with saving his life.

“I felt the country didn’t care about my service, I couldn’t feel proud about being a soldier anymore and had effectively wasted my life,” he said.

Lucy Inskip, director of the Poppy Appeal at the RBL, said seeing the public wearing poppies “means so much” to veterans and the armed forces community.

She said: “Seeing members of the public wear a poppy means so much to our armed forces community and donations raised help the Royal British Legion to continue its vital work.

“Every day, ex-serving personnel who suffer from the demands and pressures of having served their country come to the RBL for expert advice and practical support.

“From recovery to finances and camaraderie, your poppy will help the RBL to support the armed forces community.”