A care home resident and army veteran has raised over £2000 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, which is this year celebrating 100 years since the first ever Remembrance Day event.
Cyril Nutt, now aged 72, served in the army for four years and was awarded a General Service Medal for his time spent in Borneo. He recently spent three days fundraising for the Royal British Legion by selling poppies at Sainsburys in Farnham on Saturday, 2nd November, and at CHD Living’s Surrey Hills care home, where he is now a resident, on Tuesday, 5th November. He also spent Remembrance Sunday delivering poppies to each of his fellow residents at the home.
After leaving the army, Cyril worked in various roles including Head Porter at Frimley Park Hospital. Cyril was also a part time firefighter, bus driver and shop steward before retiring at 50 and going on to spend 15 years volunteering for various charities, which included travelling to Romania to rebuild orphanages – something he did 15 times in total.
Cyril is now a devoted member of The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, one of the largest fraternal organisations in the United Kingdom.
To show his continued support for the Armed Forces, Cyril sold poppies for the Royal British Legion every year with The Buffaloes until he moved into a care home in Farnham and wasn’t able to continue doing this anymore. However, after moving to Surrey Hills in June 2019 and expressing an interest in doing this again, care home staff set about making this happen for him, and this year Cyril was able to show his support for the Armed Forces once more.
Cyril said: “Remembrance Day is a hugely significant day for me as an ex-serviceman, and the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal is one that I’ve been honoured to support for as long as I can remember. It’s a great way to show appreciation for the Armed Forces community, as well as the families of those who serve our country. I’m incredibly grateful to the staff at Surrey Hills for making it possible for me to continue raising money for this wonderful cause, especially on this special year which marks 100 years since the first ever Remembrance Day.”
Tracy Lazell, Regional Manager of Surrey Hills, which is owned and operated by CHD Living, said: “We are so happy that we were able to arrange for Cyril to sell poppies for the Royal British Legion again this year, and that he was able to raise so much money for them. As an ex-serviceman, it’s a cause very close to his heart and he was absolutely delighted to be able to honour his fallen Allies in this way.”
For more information about CHD Living, please visit www.chdliving.co.uk.
