Poppy-themed ukulele raises funds for Royal British Legion

The ukulele was auctioned on eBay to raise funds for the Royal British Legion.

The piece was created by BTLX Guitars, a producer of custom stringed instruments.

It sold for £156.26 after attracting 27 bids on online auction site, eBay.

Based at Kilroot in the town, BTLX Guitars was founded by RAF veteran, Sam Knox.

The ukulele was created by BTLX Guitars.

“I’ve always had a love of guitars, and had always tinkered with them, did repairs and modifications and well as being a mediocre player,” Mr Knox said.

“I joined the RAF in 1994 and served nine years as a photographic interpreter, and after leaving in 2003 have worked mostly in the call centre circuit.”

Over the past three years, the local man had developed an interest in building guitars from scratch, before deciding to take the plunge and set up his own brand, BTLX (pronounced battle-axe).

“The Royal British Legion have been good to me since leaving the RAF, and I really wanted to do something meaningful to give something back to them, hence the poppy ukulele was born,” Mr Knox added.

“The idea for the fundraiser came from Crimson Guitars, based in England. They recently ran a contest where they got luthiers all around the world to build guitars and auction them for charities.

“They raised a huge amount and did a great job, but sadly I was too late to the party to join in, so I decided to run my own charity auction for a cause close to my heart.”

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