Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal - Basra

[Libby]

I like the 2 photos of her posted here, but I could not find any photos or videos of Hayley on that Defence Imagery site. Why am I not seeing it? Or is it gone, now that it's "old news"?

[drew]

Libby, as you say it is older news.

Look at "All content" then keep scrolling through next until you reach pages 16 and 17. The pictures are still there (this morning). By the time you read this you might have to go back a little further.

[stuartj]

Oct 29, 2008 23:26:21 GMT fusilier23 said:

That is true, Prince Charles did wear his uniform as a Kiwi Air Marshal for the dedication of the war memorial when Hayley sang, so I guess all the anglophone Commonwealth nations are part of "Her Majesty's Forces."

Not necessarily, not necessarily. I'm not an absolute expert on this, but, roughly, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of about 50 sovereign nations, most of which were former, but not necessarily, British colonies. These days the commonwealth countries follow a set of principles set out in the Declaration of Commonwealth Principles agreed at Singapore in 1971, and "ratified" since. Queen Elizabeth of England is a symbol of the Commonwealth but has no political or other authority.

But more relevant is that sixteen nations recognise Queen Elizabeth as monarch and are known as commonwealth realms. These recognise her separately and so Queen Elizabeth can be Queen of New Zealand and head of state (nominally) and also head of our armed forces without Australia or Canada (necessarily) recognising her as their Monarch, while other non-anglophone countries might also recognise her as monarch. There are even other monarchies within the commonwealth these days, and countries who have negotiated a special relationship with the UK (India, I think).

In other words, it gets very complicated, but Hayley, so far, is correct to lump the UK and NZ armed forces together. In practice they will act independently, but nominally they are still "Her Majesties" forces.

Apart from that, Hayley, like a lot of New Zealanders, will probably have dual citizenship -- have both UK and NZ passports.

[stuartj]

Oct 30, 2008 4:51:08 GMT Libby said:

I like the 2 photos of her posted here, but I could not find any photos or videos of Hayley on that Defence Imagery site. Why am I not seeing it? Or is it gone, now that it's "old news"?

I had a lot of difficulty finding them in the first place. I'm not sure whether it is legit to post them on this site, but if someone posted them somewhere in a password protected fashion and gave the password only to people who would use the videos only for themselves that might be ok.

(I am posting this more as a question for the Admins, rather than as a definite suggestion.) It does seem to me that the private dissemination of photos and videos from the MOD site is different from the private dissemination of a singer's music, for example. But I might be missing something or not fully understand the MOD's copyright.

[chrisw]

Oct 30, 2008 10:52:18 GMT stuartj said:

Apart from that, Hayley, like a lot of New Zealanders, will probably have dual citizenship -- have both UK and NZ passports.

That's actually incorrect. Once you get past the first or second generation, you become eligibile for an ancestry visa which allows kiwi's (and others) the chance to live and work in the UK. Most kiwi's have sole NZ nationality, and some have the right to spend time in the UK under various agreements.

[stuartj]

Oct 31, 2008 0:38:02 GMT chrisw said:

Oct 30, 2008 10:52:18 GMT stuartj said:

Apart from that, Hayley, like a lot of New Zealanders, will probably have dual citizenship -- have both UK and NZ passports.

That's actually incorrect. Once you get past the first or second generation, you become eligibile for an ancestry visa which allows kiwi's (and others) the chance to live and work in the UK. Most kiwi's have sole NZ nationality, and some have the right to spend time in the UK under various agreements.

How does what you say make my comment incorrect? Are the two comments mutually exclusive?

But I don't understand what you mean. Once, if you were a New Zealand citizen you had automatic right to English citizenship (and Australian). Things have changed. A grand parent born in England is important these days. But Hayley is a fifth generation New Zealander and will have no special rights it the UK.

I don't believe it is incorrect to say that a lot of Kiwis have dual citizenship. I can think of three or four friends off the top of my head who do.

[stuartj]

Oct 31, 2008 0:38:02 GMT chrisw said:

Oct 30, 2008 10:52:18 GMT stuartj said:

Apart from that, Hayley, like a lot of New Zealanders, will probably have dual citizenship -- have both UK and NZ passports.

That's actually incorrect. Once you get past the first or second generation, you become eligibile for an ancestry visa which allows kiwi's (and others) the chance to live and work in the UK. Most kiwi's have sole NZ nationality, and some have the right to spend time in the UK under various agreements.

Actually, an ancestry visa is available to anyone who is a commonwealth citizen and enables one to stay and work in the UK for five years. But it is just a visa. It would surely be convenient for Hayley to have permanent residence, and so dual citizenship would make sense.

[stuartj]

moblog.net/view/860473/britains-last-tommyand-hayley-westenra-d

Britain's last Tommy.....and Hayley Westenra

Poppy man has fallen under Hayley's spell and the return of the native.

Hello again, I just had to share some news about the Poppy Appeal launch in Avonmouth. Events were kicked off by veteran Harry Patch, who is, incredibly, Britain's very last Tommy. Harry, who's 110 years old (hope he doesn't mind me saying so!) is the last survivor of trench warfare on the Western Front in the First World War. He joined Falklands War veteran Simon Weston on board the HMS Somerset for a remembrance service. Harry said something after the event which I really wanted to put up here: "It's important that we remember the war dead on both sides of the line. The Germans suffered the same as we did. I don't feel that I am anything special. They all ought to have been here today. It was not worth it. It was not worth one life, let alone all the millions". If you were there you would have witnessed the amazing flypast of the Army Air Corps Historic Aircraft flight - they dropped hundreds of poppies all over the water and onto the ship! And I've got something exciting to tell you....I'm all set to meet up with my friend Hayley Westenra again! You may have read one of my earlier posts where I described Hayley's performance in Basra earlier this month. Well, she's so keen to show her support for the Poppy Appeal that she's going to come along to Waterloo Station in London tomorrow, and together with (another singer, you have one guess) (he used to be in ) she's going to sing as she sells poppies! I'm going to go along and see how they do It kicks off at 1pm - see you there! Poppy Man Posted by PoppyMan

PS the mystery singers initials are JA (Absolutely the last clue that I am going to give you!)

[Dave]

Details of the visit of Hayley to Waterloo Station in London has previously been posted in a separate thread here so please limit any discussion about that to the separate thread.

As far as I know, we have no information that Hayley has any passport other than what it is reasonable to assume is a New Zealand one. And unless Hayley chooses to raise the subject herself, it's really none of our business - so let's stop speculating about it.

Dave

[Richard]

From The Times...

Royal British Legion: 'We are here for today's serving people'

The Royal British Legion wants people to know that it is a support organisation for modern times.

Steve Smethurst

If you were asked who the British troops in Iraq would most like to receive a visit from, it is possible that a New Zealand soprano and a man made from chicken wire might not be at the top of the list. However, judging by the photos of the soldiers given the task of putting body armour on to 21-year-old Hayley Westenra, it looked like Christmas had come early for the boys in Basra. They were also pleased to see Poppy Man.

The pair flew out together to launch the 2008 Poppy Appeal, a two-week period of frenzied fundraising leading up to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day. On each day the nation is asked to pause for a two-minute silence to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.

Russell Thompson, the fundraising chief of the Royal British Legion, says: “One of the reasons I really wanted to take Poppy Man to Iraq was to get across the message that the Legion is an organisation of today. People know the Legion as helping World War I and World War II people, but we are doing a huge amount of work with younger people. There's been a 30 per cent increase in under-35s coming to us for help.”

Poppy Man, a chicken wire and poppy creation that can be seen supporting Legion beneficiaries on 7,000 poster sites around the country, is effectively the symbol of what Legion support stands for. “I wanted something that was almost like a spirit,” Mr Thompson says. “Something that would come along and could be a comforter to people in need. I think he's managed to do that. In Basra we had him in all sorts of positions, in tanks, with soldiers. People treated him with utmost respect. It was like having a person there.”

Last year, with Poppy Man's help, the Legion raised £30 million. This year it wants to exceed that figure by £2million. “In the current economic crisis, it might be a bit of a challenge,” Mr Thompson says, “but the appeal doesn't ask people for huge amounts of money. It's lots of people putting in small amounts.”

He emphasises that the popularity, or otherwise, of the conflicts in which the Armed Forces are involved has little effect on the charity's funds.

“We're about the human cost of conflict, so it doesn't matter if you're for or against the wars. You still care about the people involved.”

Although poppy collectors are out in their hundreds of thousands, people can embrace modern technology to make a donation. They can sign up for a PoppE, an e-mail signature with a picture of a poppy attached, or make a £1.50 donation by text and receive a poppy image as wallpaper in return. This is expected to generate £80,000 to £100,000 this year.

Over the past 12 months, the Legion has spent 61 per cent of the funds it has raised on welfare; for example, on respite care, careers advice or relationship counselling. It has also started a campaign, Return to Rationing?, which highlights the problem of pensioner poverty and donated substantial amounts to other charities with similar aims.

“We want to get across the message that we are here for today's serving people,” Mr Thompson says. “Having said that, the three surviving veterans from World War I will be with us at the Cenotaph [in Central London]. The Legion has been here for almost 90 years supporting people like that and we'll be here supporting today's Armed Forces for the next 90 years as well.”

Mr Thompson's mind goes back to Iraq. “Hayley Westenra went out there and what she really noticed was that it's people her age ... I was thinking: this was Vera Lynn, 60 years ago.”

The lowdown

Who
Russell Thompson, OBE, is director of national events and fundraising for the Royal British Legion. He is also chairman of the national convention of the Institute of Fundraising.

What
The Legion provides financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces and their dependants. At present more than ten million people are eligible for support. Last year, the charity raised £30million through the Poppy Appeal.

When
This coming Sunday is Remembrance Day, the highlight of the Legion calendar. Next Tuesday will be the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, which marked the end of the First World War.

Why
The Legion was founded in 1921 as a voice for former members of the Armed Forces. Only three veterans survive from the First World War; however, a membership of 380,000 ensures that the needs of former personnel of the Armed Forces do not go unheeded.

Richard

[grant]

Hello everyone

I had a friend call round for coffee this morning and we got onto the subject of Hayley launching this year's appeal in Basra. He told me that he had heard on the news a few days ago that this years was the most successful poppy appeal ever.

Can anyone provide any more details? I feel it should be documented in one of these threads as I'm sure Hayley's hard work and commitment had a lot to do with it.

Congratulations Hayley! I feel privileged to have been part of it.

Best wishes
Grant