TfL Pays Tribute With Poppies Ahead of Remembrance

• Donations for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal can now be made in TfL stations
• Poppy roundels are across the TfL network, including the Elizabeth line for the first time
• EastEnders actor Shane Richie has recorded a special station announcement  

Customers using Transport for London (TfL) services will be able to spot specially designed poppy roundels at 20 Underground, Overground and bus stations across the network to mark this Remembrance period. Poppy vinyls are featuring on all Underground, Overground, DLR and tram vehicles, plus Elizabeth line trains for the first time. Poppy flags are flying at TfL piers with giant poppies wrapped around selected London buses.

TfL has been working with Royal British Legion (RBL) for 10 years, and is once again supporting their annual Poppy Appeal that raises money to provide life-long support to the Armed Forces Community. Actor, singer and presenter, Shane Richie, recently recorded a special station announcement which will be played across many Underground and Rail services on London Poppy Day tomorrow (3 November) to encourage people to give what they can. 

Around 2,000 volunteers, including members of the Armed Forces from the Royal Navy British Army and Royal Air Force, will be out in force across the TfL Rail and Underground network on London Poppy Day – the biggest street collection of its kind in the UK. London Poppy Day offers the public the unique opportunity to interact with Service personnel. Donations can be made using contactless to help the RBL continue its vital work. The RBL’s support includes providing physical and mental health recovery and wellbeing services, financial and employment advice, and campaigning for the better treatment of serving and ex-serving personnel. Many of TfL’s staff, who keep London moving, are veterans themselves whose service helped give them valuable skills for their current jobs.  

All London stations will fall silent at 11am on 11 November to honour the sacrifices of the Armed Forces community past and present. On Remembrance Sunday (13 November), members of the London Transport Old Comrades Association will once again participate in the National Service of Remembrance and RBL’s annual March past the Cenotaph.  

Esther Sharples, Director Asset Performance Delivery at Transport for London, said: “We are proud to once again be working with the Royal British Legion to support their fundraising across our network for veterans and those who currently serve in the armed forces.  

“We know times are tough right now, but anything you can spare for this very important and long-standing cause will go a long way. We hope customers will spot our popular poppy tributes while they use the transport network and pause to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces.”  

Andy Taylor-Whyte, Fundraising Lead at the Royal British Legion, said: “We are extremely grateful for TfL’s fantastic support of the RBL’s Poppy Appeal each year. From the poppy roundels at stations to welcoming the hundreds of Armed Forces collectors who’ll be out across the network for this year’s London Poppy Day, we hope that commuters can help us raise as much as possible on this, our biggest fundraising day of the appeal.

“Thanks to TfL, Londoners can show that they care and that the service and sacrifice of serving personnel, veterans and their families will never be forgotten. We would like to say a huge thank you to all TfL staff and customers today – your generosity enables us to continue providing vital support to those who protect us despite never having met us.”

The poppy roundels at Tube and bus stations were made by family business AJ Wells & Sons, which is based in the Isle of Wight. The company has been making roundels for TfL for more than three decades, including for the recently opened Elizabeth line.