Lurgan and District RBL Poppy Appeal

01/09/2026

𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘀, 𝗟𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿: A massive 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 to everyone for 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 incredible efforts in raising an amazing £42,514.67 for the 2025 Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal across Lurgan and District!

But, as the fundraising for the Poppy Appeal never truly stops, we are already gearing up for the 2026 Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal that will launch this October. So, please keep an eye out for a full list of upcoming events, with detailed information being announced by the last week of September! But as an early ‘heads up’ here is an overview of what we have already planned:

𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗬:

· 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟮:𝟬𝟬 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝗻 – 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹. To be held in the Lurgan and Brownlow Clubrooms. All welcome!

· 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 (𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗕𝗖) – 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘇 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀’ 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲. This has, once again, been organised by our friends in the Mechanics’ Institute, and we are as in previous years immensely grateful for their wonderful support!

· 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝟲:𝟯𝟬 𝗽𝗺 – 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲. To be held in St John’s, Sloan Street.

· ‘𝗣𝗢𝗣 𝗨𝗣 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣’ – this will be held, once more, downstairs in our Clubrooms between 𝟯:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺–𝟲:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺 on 𝗙𝗿𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘁 𝟮𝟯–𝟮𝟰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟯𝟬–𝟯𝟭 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟲–𝟳 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿. Drop in for pre-ordered Wreaths, Crosses, Badges…and browse our second-hand book sale! ‘Walk Ins’ are also very welcome!

· 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗟𝗘 – Tickets (priced at £1 each) will be on sale from the last week of September, when you can also view the prizes in the Downstairs Bar.

· 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 – Poppy Stalls will, once more, be returning to Lurgan and Craigavon Tesco. Dates and times to follow.

𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗫𝗘𝗦 – Poppies and Collection Boxes will be distributed to local schools, shops, pubs, clubs etc in the first week of October. But if you know of any locations that we missed last year, then please let Elizabeth Maginnis or Ian Uprichard know so we can deliver one!

If you have made it this far, then…Well Done! 👏😀 However, I have one last point… 𝙬𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 to assist with the Poppy Appeal. So, if you would like to volunteer to support any aspect of the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal then please contact either myself or Prichy. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!

07/08/2026

FROM MRS ELIZABETH MAGINNIS, LURGAN AND DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL ORGANISER – SECOND-HAND BOOK SALE AT NORTHWOOD HEADQUARTERS RAISES £277 FOR THE LURGAN AND DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL

Prior to his retirement from the RAF on 21st July 2026 after nearly 41 years’ service, Lurgan and Brownlow Branch Chairman, Sqn Ldr Jim Maginnis RAF (Retd), organised a Second-Hand Book Sale in the foyer of the Northwood Officers’ Mess – with kind permission of the President of the Northwood Officers’ Mess Committee – with all takings going to the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal.

As per the Second-Hand Book Sales that were held in the ‘Pop Up Poppy Shop’** in our Clubrooms in the last couple of years, paperbacks were priced at £2 each and three for £5; and hardbacks £4 each, three for £10. And over the four weeks of the sale a fantastic sum of £277 was raised – a combination of cash deposited in an ‘old fashioned Poppy Box’, and monies collected by Direct Debit, where Northwood Officers’ Mess Members could pay for books via their Mess Bills.

I would like to thank Jim for donating books from his large and somewhat eclectic collection, and also Jim’s colleague, Major Matt Williams RE, who kept an eye on the venture whilst Jim was back in Northern Ireland on Terminal Leave.

**Due to the success of this endeavour over the past two years, we will once again be running the ‘Pop Up Poppy Shop’, during the 2026 Poppy Appeal. At the beginning of September I will be pushing out a comprehensive list of Poppy Appeal-related events, but as early ‘dates for your diary’, the ‘Pop Up Poppy Shop’ will be open from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on: Friday and Saturday 23rd and 24th of October; Friday and Saturday 30th and 31st of October; and Friday and Saturday 6th and 7th of November. As well as the collection of pre-ordered Wreaths and other Remembrance Materiel, ‘walk ins’ are most welcome, and I’m sure that I can persuade Jim to organise another Second-Hand Book Sale!

I look forward to seeing you over these weekends, and please remember, volunteers to help run our stalls in Lurgan and Craigavon Tesco will be made most welcome!

15/06/2026

LURGAN and DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL - UPDATE FROM ELIZABETH MAGINNIS, LURGAN and DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL ORGANISER:

You may not be aware, but the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal does not only run over the roughly three weeks of ‘Remembrancetide’ – viz, from the third week of October to Remembrance Sunday – but, in fact, it runs for 11 months from the 1st of October to the 31st of August the following year.

Therefore, having received several additional donations over the last number of weeks, I have recalculated our total for the period from the 1st of October 2025 to the 12th of June 2026; and the updated sum raised for the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal over this period is an incredible £40,394.17 …. and I believe that this could possibly be the first time that we in Lurgan and District have broken the £40k figure! Consequently, a massive ‘Thank You’ to all who donated to the Poppy Appeal, and to all of you who assisted both myself and my Deputy PAO Ian Uprichard (aka ‘Prichy’) in any way in our endeavours!!!

Well, we can all see that the bar is set well and truly high for the forthcoming ‘Poppy Appeal 2026’, which this year launches on Thursday the 22nd of October with the ‘main effort’ running to Remembrance Sunday, the 8th of November! Nevertheless, with your help - and new Volunteers are always most welcome - we will do our best to match this year’s tremendous effort, if not improve on it! 🤞🏻

Thank you all so much again!!! As the attached graphic says, ‘We couldn’t have done it without YOU’!!! 👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻

06/06/2026

A MESSAGE FROM ELIZABETH MAGINNIS, LURGAN AND DISTRICT PAO - A massive ‘Thank You’ to everybody who visited our Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal stall at Lurgan Show today – Saturday the 6th of June – and donated to the Poppy Appeal. It is your involvement in events such as these that keeps the momentum going outwith our main autumn Poppy Appeal in late October and early November.

And my sincere appreciation to our local politicians who took time out of their busy schedules to come over to the stall to have a chat about the Royal British Legion, and the Poppy Appeal. These included local MPs Carla Lockhart and Sorcha Eastwood (MP for Lagan Valley), our new Deputy Lord Mayor Lavelle McIlwrath (pictured), and Councillors Peter Haire and Kyle Savage.

Thanks also to Emma Ward, the Northern Ireland RBL District Events Co-Ordinator, and her daughter Hannah, who spent a number of hours with us on the stall, and it was nice too for our Branch Chairman, Squadron Leader Jim Maginnis, to have the opportunity to speak with our friends Majors Colin and Maureen Bain of Lurgan Salvation Army before their retirement to Canada at the end of the month; we will certainly miss their sage advice, and their service to all of the people of Lurgan.

04/06/2026

LURGAN AND DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL STALL at LURGAN PARK SHOW on SATURDAY the 6TH of JUNE 2026

Just a reminder that the LURGAN AND DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL will have a stall from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the LURGAN PARK SHOW on SATURDAY 6H JUNE 2026.

At our stall you will be able to purchase Remembrance Materiel and Poppy-related gifts, and we will also be taking orders for Wreaths, Poppy Crosses etc for the 110th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 2026, for other Summer Anniversaries and Commemorations, and, looking ahead, for Remembrance Sunday, which this year is on Sunday the 8th of November.

And once more we will have our ‘Second Hand Book Stall’, with paperbacks priced at £2 each or three for £5, and hardbacks at £4 each or three for £10 - all proceeds from these sales will go to the Poppy Appeal. So, please come along and grab a bargain! 📚 😉

The 2026 Poppy Appeal officially launches on Thursday the 22nd of October running through to Sunday the 8th of November; so, if you would like to volunteer and help this fantastic cause, then please come by the stall for a chat!

Also, Lurgan and Brownlow RBL Branch will also have a stall, and all proceeds from this stall will go to Branch Funds. We look forward to seeing you all there!

01/06/2026

THE BALLOT FOR THE 2026 FESITVAL OF REMEMBRANCE IN THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL on 7TH NOVEMBER 2026 IS NOW OPEN: Details of the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, including HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE BALLOT FOR TICKETS, can be found at this link:

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/events/remembrance-events/festival-of-remembrance

Royal British Legion Members have four weeks to enter the ballot through the Online Platform and have the option to enter the ballot for either the evening performance, the afternoon performance, or both; Members will then be able to purchase a maximum of two tickets. After the ballot closes, tickets will be allocated randomly.

To enter the ballot you will need your RBL Membership Number and a valid email address. Your RBL Membership Number is the set of digits displayed above your name on your membership card; please note that this contains only numbers, so please do not use the Branch Code; viz BR1740 for Lurgan and Brownlow Branch.

BALLOT RULES:

1. Each Member is allowed to enter the ballot once;

2. All entrants will be notified by email regarding the outcome of their entry;

3. Unique links will be single-use, and tickets must be purchased within 14 days of the date the BOOKING SITE (not the ‘Online Platform!) goes live.

If you have any queries, then please email the dedicated Festival of Remembrance helpline at: [email protected]

At RBL’s Festival of Remembrance, personal testimonies, storytelling and music express the nation’s gratitude to Armed Forces personnel, past and present.

25/05/2026

MESSAGE FROM ELIZABETH MAGINNIS – LURGAN AND DISTRICT POPPY APPEAL ORGANISER:

We are delighted to announce that, once again, the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal will have a stall at the upcoming LURGAN PARK SHOW from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on SATURDAY 6H JUNE 2026. At this stall you will be able to purchase Remembrance Materiel and Poppy-related gifts such as the RBL ‘2026 Poppy Pin’, and the RBL ‘2026 Armed Forces’ Day Pin’. We will also be taking orders for Wreaths, Poppy Crosses etc for the 110th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 2026, for other summer anniversaries and commemorations, and, looking ahead, for Remembrance Sunday, which this year is on Sunday the 8th of November. Once more I have, ahem, ‘persuaded’ (😁) our Branch Chairman, Jim, to thin out his massive, somewhat eclectic book collection, with paperbacks priced at £2 each or three for £5, and hardbacks at £4 each or three for £10 - all proceeds from these sales are being generously donated directly to the Poppy Appeal. So, come and grab a bargain! 📚 😉

Also, please bear in mind that it is only by purchasing your Remembrance Materiel from the RBL-authorised Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal, and not from ‘unofficial’ or ‘legacy’ sources, that you can be guaranteed that 100% of your donation will be received by the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

And a note for your diaries - the 2026 Poppy Appeal officially launches on Thursday the 22nd of October running through to Sunday the 8th of November; so, if you would like to volunteer and help this fantastic cause, then please come by the stall for a chat!
In addition, Lurgan and Brownlow RBL Branch will also have a stall, and all proceeds from this stall will go to Branch Funds. We look forward to seeing you all there! Please like and share this post to help us spread the word.

20/05/2026

17/05/2026

The Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal Organiser, Mrs Elizabeth Maginnis, would like to take this opportunity in thanking W Bro John Dumigan, District Master of Lurgan District LOL No 6, Mrs Julie Dumigan, and the rest of the Brownlow House Tattoo Committee for their kind offer enabling the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal to have a stall in the grounds of ‘the Castle’ prior to the ‘Brownlow House Tattoo that was held on Saturday 16th May 2026. To have the opportunity to enable people to obtain Remembrance Materiel, and to order Wreaths and Poppy Crosses for upcoming anniversaries was most welcome.

Indeed, the Organising Committee’s invitation that allowed Elizabeth, Mrs Jennifer McKinley, and Lurgan and Brownlow RBL President Mr Albert Houston to view the Tattoo from the ‘Guests’ seating’ was very generous, and made for a most enjoyable evening, for what really was a fantastic spectacle.

And also, a massive ‘Thank You’ to all of the members of the public who donated to the Poppy Appeal on the evening. Although the ‘main effort’ of the Poppy Appeal is naturally in October and November each year, donations are welcome all year round.

So, thanks to all of the organisers and to the participants once again.

01/05/2026

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION NATIONAL POPPY APPEAL 2025 – A Message from Squadron Leader Jim Maginnis, Chairman, Lurgan and Brownlow Branch, Royal British Legion:

The 2025 Royal British Legion National Poppy Appeal, supported by 59,000 volunteers, and with some 32 million poppies sold, has raised an incredible £56,600,000!!! This total includes £54.1 million raised by the Royal British Legion, and £2.5 million raised by Poppy Scotland; an impressive £5.2 million increase on the 2024 total.

And locally, in 2025 the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal contributed a magnificent £38,103.46 to the National endeavour; so, kudos to Elizabeth, Prichy and their Team. And whether you assisted by collecting; helping at the two Tesco stalls; donating; counting cash from the collecting boxes; or simply spreading the word of work of the Poppy Appeal, a massive ‘THANK YOU!’ for getting involved and supporting the Armed Forces community. Everyone’s effort truly mattered.

The outstanding National figure means that the RBL can continue to provide life changing support to veterans, serving personnel, and their families – whenever they need it. From helping people through welfare challenges and providing urgent grants, to offering later life care, running recovery programmes, and building vital community connections, this funding will make a real difference.

Furthermore, you may have seen comments in the MSM and on social media from naysayers denigrating the efforts of the Royal British Legion in general, and the RBL in Northern Ireland in particular. Rest assured that the Lurgan and Brownlow Branch of the Royal British Legion, and the Lurgan and District Poppy Appeal remain foursquare behind the Royal British Legion’s strategic aims of SUPPORTING, CONNECTING, and REMEMBERING the Armed Forces community.

The RBL provides lifelong SUPPORT to serving and ex-serving personnel, starting after just one day of service, delivering improved, tailored services, including specialist dementia care and recovery programmes, and introducing preventative support to help beneficiaries earlier.

The RBL aims to strengthen the camaraderie and support networks for the Armed Forces community by CONNECTING with serving and ex-serving personnel, and their families. And via the Lurgan and Brownlow RBL Club we endeavour to support the wider community of Lurgan and its environs in connecting with one another to build social networks which will enable us to combat social isolation and improve mental health and general well-being.

As the national custodian of REMEMBRANCE, the RBL ensures that the unique contribution of our Armed Forces is never forgotten. We always place the history and meaning of the Poppy as an emblem of Remembrance at the heart of our events. And this is particularly important in our own Province were people, often simply through lack of understanding, misinterpret the Poppy and the RBL, and what we stand for.

Finally, we actively CAMPAIGN on behalf of serving personnel and Veterans alike, by challenging disadvantage, representing the interests of the Armed Forces community to government, and ensuring the Armed Forces Covenant is upheld.

The Royal British Legion continues to honour the fallen whilst supporting the living. Our ethos of ‘SERVICE NOT SELF’, places DUTY, REMEMBRANCE, and SUPPORT at the heart of all we do.