Mayor presented with first poppy

The Mayor accepted the first poppy of this year’s Royal British Legion (RBL) Poppy Appeal on Saturday in Market Place and afterwards crowds enjoyed live music entertainment by Sam Brown’s Ukulele Band.

The band kicked off with Cecilia, followed by Ghost Riders and These Boots which saw President of the Henley & Peppard RBL start his legendary dancing dressed in WW1 army uniform and was joined by Henley Mayor, Councillor Tom Buckley with the audience clapping and singing along.

Deputy Chair of Henley & Peppard Branch RBL Tim Came before presenting the popppy said, “The poppy is our symbol, which is all about hope and renewal. And it was the first flower that appeared on the battlefields of France after they were churned up in the First World War. And made famous by that wonderful, wonderful poem In Flanders Fields. We thoroughly thank the support we get from this community. Henley is amazingly generous to us. We raise a huge amount of money. We’re a thriving charity here and the Mayor and the town council do an enormous amount of work on our behalf and support us. So we’re very, very grateful. It is my absolute pleasure and duty to hand over the first bobby this year to the Mayor, Tom Buckley.”

Henley Mayor, Councillor Tom Buckley said, “I’d like to thank everybody who’s come out today to celebrate this and to be here for the start of this year’s Poppy Appeal. The British Legion, from my experience in Henley, is one of the most genuine charities we’ve got here. The help that it gives and the people that it supports. From my perspective as the Mayor of Henley, I’m honoured to be given the first Poppy. I’d just like to thank you and I’d like to thank the band for coming and everybody else out here today. We look forward to raising as much money as possible for you this year.”