EVERY year Mick Townsend gets on a bus from Carterton to Oxford and pitches up in Cornmarket for a week to fundraise for the Royal British Legion.

From today he will be out shaking his tin again for 2014’s Poppy Appeal and is hoping for his biggest year yet.

In 2013 the former serviceman raised about £4,300 for the campaign on his own and this year he will aim for £5,000.

There are hopes that as the country remembers the First World War’s centenary year the appeal will benefit from the increased attention.

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Oxfordshire Royal British Legion vice-chairman Mr Townsend said he expected to be out on the busy Oxford street from 8.30am to 5pm.

The 59-year-old, a former Army chef, said: “I do it because it makes me feel like I am giving something back.

“People like me have been out on active service and returned in one piece, but not everyone is that lucky and those who weren’t need our help.

“What the Legion does helps servicemen and women, their families and their dependants.”

Mr Townsend worked in the Army Catering Corps from 1970 to 1975, then went to be a chef in the RAF from 1976 to 1986.

He has served in Northern Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Belize, Germany and Cyprus.

As part of his work with the British Legion over the years, he has also been a case worker – helping people directly using funds raised by the Poppy Appeal.

He said: “Seeing the people the money helps made it all very worthwhile. I helped people get money for a deposit for a mobility vehicle and I have helped others with things like double glazing and getting ramps installed at their home.

“It’s the things which we all take for granted which some people just do not have the money for.”

Mark Collins, legion area manager for Oxford, said funds raised through the Poppy Appeal did not only go towards care for elderly veterans, but also to younger ones who need skills and training.

He said: “Young people who have come out of the military might want to learn a trade skill, so we can support them by buying tools.

“Or if they have a good opportunity for a job we can fast-track them on to a training course.

“We are trying to help people get to a sustainable position.”

This year the Royal British Legion has said it hopes to smash its fundraising record in Oxfordshire and raise £500,000 – an increase of about £18,000 on last year. It is hoped that the centenary of the First World War will encourage people to donate more than ever this year.

For more information visit: britishlegion.org.uk/counties/ oxfordshire

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