YP Letters: Do jewellery poppies contribute to good cause?

A giant poppy at a Premier League match but is the symbol of remembrance being devalued?

AT the beginning of November, my custom for as long as I can remember has been to make a donation to the Royal British Legion appeal and to wear my poppy with pride until Remembrance Sunday.

In recent years, I have seen increasing numbers of women and, more recently, of men wearing jewellery crafted into poppies.

I have two concerns regarding this trend.

I wonder what proportion of the cost of the poppy reaches the Legion fund?

Secondly, since these poppies are jewellery items, they will not be discarded after the Remembrance season is over.

When they are brought out the following year I wonder how many of the wearers will make a further donation to the Poppy Appeal.

Along with most purchasers of the traditional paper emblems, I discard my poppy after attending the service at my village war memorial, knowing I can  obtain a new one and make a fresh donation the following year.

For me the simple emblem  is a poignant reminder  of the poppies of the Flanders fields, something which the jewellery replacement fails to evoke.