The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal for 2012 was launched in spectacular style this evening, with a pop concert in Trafalgar Square.
Singers Alesha Dixon and Pixie Lott gave fans a treat at the gig; the pair have been adopted as this years appeal. The concert also included performances by The Corps of Drums of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards and the trumpeters from the Band of the Grenadier Guards. Whilst James Fox, star of the West End musical Let It Be, sang the official Poppy Appeal 2012 single Landlocked.
Poppies will now go on sale until 11 November, Remembrance Day.
The act of 2-minutes of silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, began in 1919. It followed the Armistice Agreement between the Allies and Germany, which signalled the end of the First World War.
Remembrance Day and the Appeal as a whole was first used to pay respect to those who lost their lives in The First World War. But it is now used to remember all those who have served in the Armed Forces.
The Royal British Legion spends £1.7 million a week on care and support for military families, including grants, employment advice and funding, emotional support, tribunal and inquest advice, care homes and family breaks.
Photograph © Andrew Dunn
