ONE LOCAL branch of the Royal British Legion in Gwent is preparing to host the official poppy appeal launch for the first time. 

The Blackwood branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) are set to officially launch the community's poppy appeal for 2024 in preparation for Remembrance Day in November next week. 

As part of the official launch, the team at the Blackwood Royal British Legion are holding a special event marking this important moment on the yearly calendar. 

According to Blackwood and District Royal British Legion's secretary Natasha Hocking, the event will begin at quarter to ten on Thursday, October 24 with attendees gathering at Saint Margaret's Church on High Street in Blackwood. 

The celebrations will begin with a service led by Reverend Mark Owen, which will end at 10.30am prompt, with a procession then set to form to proceed to Dragon Square, which will be led by a lone piper and a poppy mascot. 

The procession will stop at Dragon Square and be followed by a two minute silence in remembrance of the fallen soldiers. 

The event will include a special processional march for the first time in around 15 yearsThe event will include a special processional march for the first time in around 15 years (Image: Blackwood RBL) Following this silence, the poppy appeal will be officially opened by Lord Lieutenant Brigadier Aitken CBE.

As part of the event, fundraising stalls will be available, offering tea, coffee and other refreshments from the bar inside Blackwood Miner's Institute, which is already under pressure of being mothballed at the end of the year. 

Blackwood branch secretary Natasha Hocking said: "We welcome  everyone to join us at this special poppy appeal launch event. 

"This is set to be the first march of this kind in at least 15 years. Our Blackwood and District branch members have worked extremely hard to widen the branch's activities within the community. This includes becoming more active in the local schools, and other organisations.

"The Cefn Fforest community centre has been a big supporter of the RBL for several years, and this year we have been really pleased to welcome the centre's committee as members and committee members of our RBL branch. 

"I'd also like to say a big thank you to our Armed Forces champion Teresa Heron, who has supported us greatly and been a big help in organising this event.

"We are really excited to have a lot of special guests with us for the launch, and we've even got 10 confirmed schools joining us, which is really good news."

The special guests expected at the launch include Lord Don Touhig MP, Chris Evans MP, Ruth Jones MS and Rhianon Passmore MS.