Peter receives RBL award

We’re incredibly proud to celebrate the achievements of Peter Frost, one of our activities assistants here at Maples Care Home. He has been honoured with an award by the Bexleyheath & Welling branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) for 15 years of dedicated service during the annual Poppy Appeal.

To mark this milestone, Peter was presented with a certificate and commemorative badge during a ceremony at Bexleyheath Methodist Church in April 2025.

However, Peter’s journey with the RBL actually began 23 years ago, and his involvement arose out of a personal connection. His grandfather served in the Great War and was a fireman with the Civil Defence during World War II.

Inspired by this legacy, Peter decided to take a unique approach to collecting for the RBL – by wearing an authentic wartime uniform to draw attention to the Poppy Appeal and spark conversations with the public.

“Wearing the fireman’s uniform really has made me stick out like a sore thumb,” he says, “and it often starts conversations with people who either had their own wartime experiences or could talk about those of their parents or grandparents.”

He adds: “My wife and I have met some remarkable people, and we have heard many sad and emotional stories – something I feel wouldn’t have happened had we not dressed in 1940s attire.”

As a member of several Living History groups, Peter, his wife and other re-enactor colleagues have joined veterans and military choirs in shopping centres and other public events. By doing so, they have raised huge sums of money for the RBL while helping to keep the memory of both our veterans and the meaning of remembrance alive for younger generations.

With age and infirmity resulting in fewer veterans able to collect in recent years, Peter believes that it’s time for members of the public to step up to the mark.

“More than ever, the RBL needs volunteer collectors to carry on this vital work,” he says. “Many people don’t realise that monies collected by the annual Poppy Appeal go far beyond supporting elderly veterans. It provides rehabilitation programmes for veterans and serving military personnel who have mental health issues, while funding of the Battle Back centre at Lilleshall enables the provision of a wide range of programmes that support injured and sick servicemen and women to recover from their injuries and disabilities.”

Since 2011, the RBL has also provided research funding for the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College, which aims to improve treatment for those injured by improvised explosive devices, (IEDs). The charity works with the British Armed Forces, too, to develop better ways of protecting service personnel from injury in current and future conflicts.

Click here to donate to RBL or get involved in fundraising.