Kym Marsh launches charity ‘Poppy Picnic’ initiative

She's known mainly as a singer who scored hits with Hear'Say and as a solo star, as well as for having a big role in Coronation Street. But some may not realise that Kym Marsh also has links to The Royal British Legion.

Kym's grandfather was a member of the Army in World War Two, and after this he became president of the local Cheshire Royal British Legion branch, according to the charity.

And more recently, Kym has just helped to launch the Poppy Picnic campaign from the charity.

She is urging people to hold Poppy Picnics, either on June 21st or another date this summer. The idea being that these will fundraise for the charity.

Special Poppy Picnic packs are being given out in branches of Iceland, and people can register their events and order these packs on a dedicated campaign website.

"I'm delighted to be supporting the Legion's Poppy Picnics, the charity has always been a part of my family, and very close to our hearts", singer and actress Kym said. "I was extremely close to my granddad when I was growing up, and as a little girl, I was always fascinated by stories of his time in the Forces."

She added that her family has been involved with the Royal British Legion as far back as she can recall, meaning it's truly an honour for her to launch the new campaign.

The charity's weekly spend on helping veterans, serving personal and family members comes to £1.4 million. This goes into providing things like money advice, crisis grants, breaks and more.

"I'd encourage everyone to get together with friends and family for a Poppy Picnic this summer, and remember the families of our amazing Armed Forces," said Kym.

The star first appeared on Coronation Street, the famed ITV soap opera, in 2006. Before this, she had mainly been known as a singer, initially hitting the big time when she starred in Popstars, the TV show that began the current era's continuing popularity of pop talent shows (seen to this day in series like The X Factor and The Voice).

Chosen as a member of Hear'Say in the series, she had a string of hits with the group, and later went solo to continued singing success.  

Earlier this month, the Royal British Legion asked people to donate memorabilia linked to the military for a World War One anniversary auction.

It's not just looking for World War One items, though. Postcards, uniforms and other things from other conflicts are also being received for the initiative.

James & Sons, the auctioneers, are going to be putting on several auctions, starting on September 21st, with the aim of raising £1 million for the Royal British Legion in The Great Centenary Charity Auction.

The charity's director general, Chris Simpkins, said that nearly all the families in the UK will have family members who had involvement in World War One, and many will have hidden items they aren't aware of.

"I would encourage everyone to check their cupboards, drawers and attics for anything that might be suitable for The Great Centenary Charity Auction," he said.

It's planned that this fundraising activity will help with research at Imperial College London's Centre for Blast Injury Studies, which receives charitable funding from the Legion.

According to James & Sons Auction House owner David James, another, similar auction took place some time ago marking the Falklands conflict and brought in some £250,000.

It's aimed that the new initiative will bring in quadruple that sum, he added, and achieving this would represent an appropriate marking of the First World War's 100th anniversary.

Meanwhile, The Royal British Legion, along with Combat Stress, Help for Heroes and various other service charities are going to be supported by an upcoming Tower of London charity event.

According to Historic Royal Palaces, this event is also linked to World War One's anniversary (the conflict will be 100 years old this year), and will see more than 800,000 ceramic poppies filling the moat of the Tower.

These will be sold off and the proceeds donated to a selection of charities, all of them linked to the services.