Bracknell Forest’s champion for the armed forces has helped launch the Poppy Shop at The Lexicon, which raises money for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal in the run up to Remembrance Day.
Cllr Georgia Pickering, the borough’s armed forces champion, joined representatives from The Lexicon, The Royal British Legion, Bracknell Town Council and Crafting Smiles to launch the pop-up Poppy Shop last week.
The shop in the High Street not only sells poppies, it also showcases poppy related art and military memorabilia. This collectively serves as a reminder as to why Remembrance Day and giving thanks to the armed forces, their families and veterans is so important.
In addition to The Poppy Shop, Crafting Smiles (a local community group that helps Hong Kongers connect through crochet) has created a moving remembrance display in The Braccan Walk Pod. The display features 2,000 handmade crochet poppies. The group has also generously donated a further 1,000 crochet poppies, which will be available to buy at the Poppy Shop.
Cllr Pickering said:
“It was an honour and privilege to help launch The Poppy Shop in The Lexicon last week. The Poppy Shop is a place for people to show their respect, pride and support for our armed forces, their families and our veterans.
“Thank you to everyone at The Lexicon, The Royal British Legion and Crafting Smiles who have supported The Poppy Shop and all the wonderful artwork that is available for people to view and reflect on in the run up to Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday. This is a moving tribute and gesture of thanks to all those who have served and continue to serve our country.”
The Poppy Shop can be found opposite Brown Bag in The Lexicon. It is open daily from 10am to 4pm until Friday 6 November. Visitors can buy the 2026 poppy pin, traditional paper poppies, Crafting Smiles’ crochet poppies and a wide range of Royal British Legion merchandise, with all proceeds supporting the Poppy Appeal.
A number of giant poppies will also be installed across Bracknell Forest over the next week and will remain in place until after Armistice Day, signifying the borough’s thanks to all our armed personnel, their families, and our veterans.
