Royal Navy: Historic Falklands War landing craft delivers first poppies for life-changing Portsmouth appeal

Crowds gathered in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, HMNB Portsmouth, to watch Royal Navy personnel step ashore and deliver the remembrance flowers. LCVP F8 - which saw action in the Falklands War in 1982 - carried the sailors past HMS Warrior while members of the Royal Marines Band Service performed to the visitors.

Salutes were made with service personnel and veterans, before volunteers started accepting donations from the public in aid of the Royal British Legion (RBL). For Allen Parton, who served in the Royal Navy and was injured in the Gulf War in 1991, the ceremony was a poignant reminder that the RBL was always there for him and his family.

“When the guns fall silent on the battle field the fight against trauma, disability and bereavement just begin for so many,” he told The News. Mr Parton said he was in a coma for five years after suffering a traumatic head injury - forgetting his wife and children. When he had to move out of Navy accommodation in Headley Court, he tried to take his own life twice. He sought help from the RBL, who managed to get him accommodation in Clanfield.

The 65-year-old said: “You’re the richest man in the world if your family is alright. The British Legion has been with me throughout my story and to come to an event like this, I’m reminded that people care. I know I wouldn’t be with my wife and children today if the British Legion hadn’t put us together in a house. We would have gone our separate ways. They stood shoulder to shoulder with us on our journey.”

Mr Parton said you don’t have to have been injured in war for the RBL to help you. He added that the organisation can lay the path for you to go down, where you don’t have to feel as if you’re begging. “You could have Parkinsons, MS, fall on hard times, be made redundant, but the British Legion are there,” Mr Parton said.

“Knowing they are there is more important than accepting the help. The British Legion has played such a huge part in my life and I’m honoured to have been part of today’s ceremony. There is always a reason that you might need help. Sometimes we’re too embarrassed to ask for help, but the British Legion goes through everything in a sensitive way, which is really important.”

Mr Parton said his mental health deteriorated when he left the service, because he felt like he was losing his naval career and letting “queen and country down”. He added: “Seeing everyone wearing their poppy reminds me that people care. From where I sit in a wheelchair, that’s a powerful message to receive.”

For Tim House, co-ordinator for the poppy appeal in Eastney and Milton, raising money and remembering fallen personnel will always hold a special place in his heart. The 59-year-old said his grandfather served in the Royal Hampshire regiment when he got evacuated from Dunkirk in the Second World War, later joining the parachute regiment first battalion. He added that his grandad served in Sicily, North Africa, and fought in the Battle of Arnhem in 1944.

“He was a popular man in Portsmouth, is and my hero,” the Milton resident said, always will be.” Mr House added: “I’m hoping people will rally around the cause. Hopefully we’ll get very good support again here in Portsmouth, which we always do. The service was very good and something different to what we normally do. Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy, so it’s brilliant they’re working with us.”

Lieutenant Commander Steve Cass, who has served in the Royal Navy for 38 years, said personnel are more than happy to rally around the RBL and remember those who served before them. “The military family that we’ve got is supported by great organisations such as the RBL, so it’s great to give back to them,” the Cornwall native said. “Uniformed volunteers go out and collect, and are involved with the festival of remembrance. Long may that continue.

“A lot of people only associate the RBL with this time of year, but they do great stuff all year round for serving members of the military, their family, and veterans. They’re very humble and don’t make a big sound about the good stuff they do, but it’s very much appreciated by all of us, especially in a leadership role where some of your people just need a bit of support every now and again.”

Lt Cdr Cass said honouring fallen service personnel means a lot to him. “Members of my family served in both world wars,” he added. “The Falklands War was the catalyst for me wanting to join the Royal Navy back in the 1980s. Everything that the legion has done for us over the past 100 years is brilliant, and it’s great to keep that connection alive.”

He added: “I grew up near a Fleet Air Arm station and there was a lot of activity. There were ships being loaded up with helicopters just up at the beach where I used to swim as a kid. This sparked the interest in me being here today. I’m very proud and still very enthusiastic about my career. I’ll stay as long as they have me.”

Donations can be made to the poppy appeal online via the RBL website, or through official volunteers.