The mayor presides over the acts of solidarity of the Royal British Legion which raises funds with the Poppy Appeal

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has presided this morning the acts of 'Poppy Appeal' organized every year by the Royal British Legion, a charity event that collects funds with the sale of some poppies made mainly by people with disabilities and which honors British soldiers killed in wars since the II World War.

The event began at 12:00 with a parade in Castellón Street until Avenida Ametlla de Mar, where military honors were rendered with the accompaniment of a group of bagpipers and in front of several hundred people, mostly tourists from the UK. In the ceremony the British Consul in Alicante, Sara Jane Morris was present and representatives of the Royal British Legion and the Poppy Appeal in Spain, Nigel Hails, Robin Hargrave and the lieutenant, David Whimpenny.

In his welcoming remarks to the attendees, Toni Pérez praised the work being done by the Royal British Legion since 1921, "as an example of service, solidarity and friendship among peoples and nations" and encouraged them to continue working "in defense of the values ​​that unite us and define us as a civilized society: the value of freedom, the value of equality and the value of personal growth."

The Royal British Legion has about 700,000 members and is an organization that finances itself with donations. It was founded in 1921 to support veterans of the First World War and their families and has become one of the largest charities in Britain. Every year sell about 25 million poppies. In Spain the association has about 4,000 members in the 36 branches.