Cadets honored for recording breaking Poppy Appeal

The Lord Lieutenant with second runner up Cadet Rehema Musa from 1263 (Rochdale) Squadron Air Training Cadets who raised £912.46

Cadets from across Greater Manchester have been recognised at an awards ceremony after they raised nearly £157,000 for the Poppy Appeal – almost 18 per cent more than the 2010 total.

The young Sea, Army and Air Cadets in Greater Manchester raised more than any other cadet force in the country gaining high praise from the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Colonel Warren J Smith.

At a prestigious awards ceremony at University Barracks, Manchester, Colonel Smith told the cadets: "Just to pull in a few hundred pounds on your own is hard, when people are talking about individuals raising thousands it is amazing. Every penny collected counts and you have done a fantastic job."

Cadets said they received tremendous support from the public as they sold poppies outside supermarkets and in the town centres.

Greater Manchester Vice-President of The Royal British Legion Wing Commander David Forbes, said: "We have 4,000 young cadets around the Greater Manchester Area and I am extremely proud of their efforts to raise money for the Poppy Appeal. The money raised by our young cadets helps our service personnel and their dependents in their time of need, the efforts of the cadets are very much appreciated."

In addition to the money raised by the cadets, the Poppy Appeal has benefited from a further £6,398.88 raised by sixth form colleges and £18,877.20 from the Naval and Army Officer Training Corps and the Tameside Nursing Cadet. This made an overall total of nearly £157,000 from the young men and women of Greater Manchester.

Nationally the Poppy Appeal has already raised £36million.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/67169/record-poppy-appeal-total