A kind-hearted Fulham couple aim to sell a record number of poppies for this year’s Poppy Appeal with help from the council.
Tom Phillips, 77, and Mary Walker, 67, had nowhere to base their generous campaign before the council stepped in, offering free use of 181 King Street for the record-busting attempt.
Now the husband-and-wife team hope to recruit a huge army of 100 volunteers to help out, and have appealed especially to south-west London’s youth.
Mary said: “It’s really important to get young people involved, because they’re the only people who can take it forward for the next generation.”
She urged people to donate even just a couple of hours of their time to sell poppies for the Royal British Legion.
This campaign is just the latest adventure for the ‘dynamic duo’, who met in Bahrain in 1978 and spent many years living overseas.
They eventually returned to Britain and settled down just off Fulham’s North End Road.
Councillor Alan De’Ath was moved to find a home for their operation after being contact by Mary.
He said: “Tom and Mary have an incredible energy, and the effort they and other volunteers are putting in is fantastic.
“Finding a space for them is the least we can do – now we need more people to step forward and sell poppies.”
The Poppy Appeal is organised by the Royal British Legion, which was founded to help veterans of WW1.
The charity hopes to raise £40m through this year’s centenary appeal, as they continue their support for members of the Armed Forces and their families.
Anyone who wishes to volunteer for Mary and Tom’s campaign should ring 07791 888 142, email [email protected] or drop into 181 King Street.
