Actors playing WW1 soldiers are helping to promoting PoppyScotland's new Poppy Pledge for next year's WW1 centenary
Remembrance Day celebrations may be over for another year, but Poppyscotland has enlisted the support of actors Sam Ducane and Jake Morgan to get Scots thinking about next year already.
As 2018 will be the centenary of the end of the First World War, Poppyscotland is calling on people to make a Poppy Pledge to raise £1,918.
Ducane and Morgan are currently starring in the World War 1 inspired West End production The Wipers Times and joined current serving soldiers to get down and dirty in a recreated First World War trench to promote the appeal.
Gordon Michie, head of fundraising for Poppyscotland, said: “While the Scottish Poppy Appeal remains the lifeblood of the charity, we have today launched The 1918 Poppy Pledge; a year-long fundraising quest that we hope will inspire groups, schools, businesses, clubs and organisations around the country to take on the challenge of raising £1,918 – or more – in the next year.
“As we enter this important centenary year, The Poppy Pledge will be a lasting tribute to those who fell in the First World War. Importantly, it will also allow us to make a step change in the scale of support Poppyscotland is able to provide those in the armed forces community who rely on our support today.”
The actors were joined by serving soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal and Mechanical Engineers (REME), based at Leuchars Station, who were the first to sign The 1918 Poppy Pledge.
Corporal Craig Wood, from the REME (pictured right), said: “The coming year will mark an important milestone in our nation’s history as we reflect on the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First World War, and the sacrifices made by so many. The work of Poppyscotland is as vital today as it was back then and that’s why we were the first to sign The 1918 Poppy Pledge. We hope that other military units, and the public as a whole, will join us in supporting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The promotion photograph was taken at the Digging In trenches, which is located in Glasgow’s Pollok Park. They are a re-creation of a section of Allied and opposing German trenches and give visitors an understanding of how soldiers learned to survive not just the violence of war, but also the mundane challenges of daily life.
The Wipers Times tells the true story of the satirical newspaper created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme, interspersed with comic sketches and spoofs from the vivid imagination of those on the front line. The stage adaptation was developed following an award-winning BBC film by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.
