Littlehampton family raises £1,000s for veterans with poppy scheme

Nicole Pilbeam and her family turned their remembrance memorial into an incredible fundraiser, raising more than £3,000 for the Royal British Legion.

It started with Nicole and her three children sticking decorated poppies in the window of their house in Challen Vale, Littlehampton, similar to the rainbow trails seen in the first lockdown.

Word spread fast and other families were soon donating in return for poppy pictures to decorate and stick in their windows, then leading their children around the Kingley Gate Estate to see everyone’s creations.

Nicole, 38, said the scheme was a great way for children to learn about the meaning of Remembrance Day.

“It’s nice that we’ve still been able to recognise Remembrance Day even in lockdown,” she said.

“It let us concentrate on the real meaning a bit more than we would usually and focus on the events, like Armistice Day, that would usually pass by in a blink.”

After setting an initial target of £25 for her fundraiser, Nicole said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the influx of donations.

“It made me realise that, although people have been suffering this year, the community can still come together,” she said.

The roads of the Kingley Gate Estate are named after soldiers who appear on the Littlehampton War Memorial and in 2018 a special centenary stone was laid at the entrance to the estate bearing the names of the fallen.

Nicole’s family has a special connection to the armed forces after her grandfather spent five years as a prisoner of war in Germany during the Second World War.

Donate here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kgremembrance