Poppy appeal breaks £1m barrier

Figures just released show that the appeal has broken through the 1m mark for the first time and local collectors contributed substantially to that record-breaking total.

A total of 1,010,699.80 was raised in the Appeal from October, 2008 to September 2009.

The Northern Ireland District of the Royal British Legion expected an increase of round 2.5%, which would have taken the total towards a total of 990,000.

The 1M target has been achieved two years ahead of schedule.

The highest total of 237,359.99 came from County Antrim and was followed by County Down with 214,553.32.

The other county totals were: County Belfast 96,120.20, County Armagh 110,506.41, County Fermanagh 28,349.05, Co Londonderry 150,551.57, Co Tyrone 116,828.22 and finally the Staff in the District Office in Talbot Street raised 56,431.04.

The largest branch increase came from Upperlands in Co. Londonderry which rose from 4,384 to 6,463, an increase of 47%, closely followed by the West Belfast Branch, which increased its total by 41% rising from 4,000 to 5,560.

The Northern Ireland Manager of the Royal British Legion, Bill Craig, said the response from the public had been amazing.

"We had hoped to break through the 1M mark in a couple of years, but to do it this soon is wonderful," he said.

"There has been a lot of public attention recently to the work of the Legion and of course our servicemen and women who are in combat zones around the world.

"The success of the Homecoming Parade in Belfast also heightened the profile of the work done by our armed forces.

"The Northern Ireland public has rallied round at a time when the welfare work of the Royal British Legion has increased by 50%. Mr Craig is retiring from the post in January after twenty years.