Thank you for the heads up that the round pin had now been listed again. I went straight to the site and purchased….first of all, payment was refused because ‘delivery to that location is not possible’ (quote)…..thousands of other parcels have managed fine…….so I started again. All went well and. Payment accepted and order confirmed ……….it will be delivered to a person called James James since they have substituted my surname with my first one…….it is an interesting idea. Whether I will get 1, 2, or 0 pins is anyone’s guess and I am picturing a poor fellow called James James scratching his head in utter bemusement. They really do need to get their act together.

3.25: someone has spotted the error and corrected it. In addition, they emailed an apology for the mix up. I offer my compliments for swift action and accept with good grace.

Falklands Pin arrived but are there two versions ?

The one I have (photo 2) has more writing on the back than the one now showing on PoppyShop page (photo 3). :confused:

.

Another pin arrived today but this one brings back memories .

Three young Scottish soldiers were murdered in Belfast in 1971 , a few years later (as a young Scottish soldier) I did a tour and regularly passed the area where their bodies were found.


https://www.threescottishsoldiers.org/
.

Mike have you seen these ones ? They sell them at the National Arboretum

I also have these....a money collection box and ww1 poppy.

I've not seen the badges before , thanks for posting.

.

I have both the RBL and the Scottish versions of the 1918 - 2018 poppy , I am also getting a couple of the Poppy Scotland "100" one from a friend. I have been informed that there was an RBL one with "100" on the leaf but have never seen it.

I like the collection box , there is also a large version.

.

If anyone out there has a spare ‘Seaham Soldier Poppy’ which shows the Statue of the Tommy in Seaham Harbour, Co Durham, I would be very interested in purchasing.
Cheers
James

Hadn't heard about or seen that one , is it the one the Branch issued last year ?

.

The smaller Poppy Box is known as a Home Collection Unit, the larger is a All Year Collection box for commercial premises. Both are still available

Thanks for the info Mike .

.

It has been around for about 3 years or so. I even drove up to Seaham to try to get one last year but could find nowhere selling them. The badge, I am told, has a black background (possibly a red background variant too) which has the outline of the statue at its centre. The only one I have actually seen (black background) was at a shopping outlet near Seaham. I popped into a shop to get some change in order to buy one……changed my £20 note and found……..the seller had packed up and gone…..rude words were spoken!
Cheers
James
ps: being blind as the proverbial bat, I read your post and replied…….then I noticed the photo you had posted…….that is the exact badge…..at least I can see why I was pondering red or black for the background . Well found sir. All I need now is how to get hold of one.

Yes mine is the small home collection box. It was my father-in-laws he give it me before he pasted away. So it means alot to me as he use to take with him when he was selling poppies for his local branch.

Have you tried contacting the Branch ? They may have stopped making/selling them but someone may have a spare available.

.

Excellent idea Mike and I will certainly give it a try. What is there to lose? I shall get their contact details and email them. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the suggestion.
Cheers
James

I've tried with a few branches , some don't even ackowledge the e-mails , others have been very polite but couldn't help and a couple have actually sent me badges (no charge but I always made an appropriate donation).

It's worth a try ! ;)

.

They also produced a badge in 2018 for their Field of Remembrance.

.

Beautiful badge that one.
Well I have contacted the local RBL branch by email and I have crossed fingers and live in hope. One can only try. Thanks once again for your suggestion.
Cheers
James

Queen's Jubilee
 

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee pin is now available from PoppyShop.

https://www.poppyshop.org.uk/product...oppy-lapel-pin

.

Managed to get hold of two of the Scotland 100 paper poppies ! :D

I can't decide if this was issued to commemorate the Centenary of the British Legion , the Centenary of the British Legion Poppy Appeal ....or both ? :confused:

I have also been told that there was a British version with "100" on the leaf but can find no information about it , I wonder if this is/was specially produced for "The Poppy Factory"?. If anyone has any information or spots one please let me know.

Thanks !

.

London Ambulance Service
 

Thanks to a friend I have filled in the gaps in my official London Ambulance Service pin set but ....... I'm still looking for the one from 2009 ! An ambulance worker first designed and started to sell poppy badges to colleagues in 2009 but I think that intial one was "unofficial" and it was the next year (2010) that LAS gave their permission for them to be worn. The 2019 pin was the 10th official pin.

So , that's another two off my "wanted list" but for some reason it never gets any shorter ! :D

.

Another fake !
 

A 2010 poppy pin has started to appear on eBay , it has the leaf on the correct side for 2010 but is the wrong size (see photo 1 which shows it compared to genuine one) . It also has the CaringPlus back mark which is found on some genuine double dated pins (and the questionable double dated 11-13 ones) but has not the correct finish (see photo 2).

I would guess that someone has sent a genuine CaringPlus pin and this fake is what has been produced.

.

I have heard from other people that the Falklands Pin they have received from PoppyShop have the full inscription on the rear (2 April - 14 June 1982 LEST WE FORGET) rather than the basic (1982 - 2022) shown on the web site.

I was hoping to hear back from them after I posted a review/feedback but so far nothing.

.

Thanks to Mike V I also now have the LAS 75th VE/VJ anniversary pin and Light Blue Manchester Bee so 2 more for my display board, but as Mike says the list never gets any shorter.

The 2 Falklands Pins I have from the Poppy Shop are also the LEST WE FORGET with map, not the simple dated one which I am now looking for. I have an order for an extra 2 in process, so I wonder which one I will get?

I ordered 2 initially but am now hanging on to see which ones the PAO's/Branches get so that I can be sure to get the basic one .

Between initially selling the pin , then taking it off the site only to put it back the next day .... plus showing one version but sending the other is really showing up how disorganised and unprofessional whoever is running the PoppyShop website is ! .

EDIT : Just noticed this on PoppyShop page ;
But it still doesn't show the LEST WE FORGET version . :confused:

.

Well Mike. You gave a a suggestion and on ‘the half chance’ I contacted Seaham. This morning ( having given up hope of any reply) a package came through the
Letterbox. Was it worth the wait…….oh yes….see the photos below:

Excellent !

I have had a couple of sucesses with Branches , a polite inquiry costs nothing and even if they can't help with a specific badge they can be very useful contacts for future items. :)

.

.

Spotted this one on eBay , photo wasn't very clear but thought I'd take a chance. Arrived today , more 'painted' than enamel and 1914 -1919. Made in Northern Ireland , so possibly a "branch" item.

NB - Lots of fake early dated poppy pins are appearing on eBay and I don't think they are all coming from China !

.

Isle of Man
 

Been sorting through my albums and managed to get hold of a couple of Isle of Man pins I needed.

Am still looking for a few , a three leg (triskelion) one from 2015 and (what I think was) the first of the motorbike pins they issued in 2014.

.

RBL Riders
 

While checking out the IOM motorbike pins I discovered a couple of photos of motorbike pins that I think were early Riders Branch ones.

1. Last year's excellent Riders Poppy Pin.
2. Previous motorbike/scooter pins sold at Riders Rallies etc.
3. Unusual 2012 dated motorbike with RBL on tank (rider facing opposite direction from normal) , would love to get hold of this one !
4. Possibly pre 2011 pin , leaf at 2 o'clock :confused:

.

Pilgrimage Club
 

Just picked up this nice badge but not sure of when it was produced. Jerry has a similar round version but with RBL Pilgrimages on it and I have a small lapel pin with the same insignia.

It could be an earlier British Legion one ?

I like it and it is a great addition to my collection of "Pilgrimage" items (badges , tickets , itinerary , book etc).

.

Contacted PoppyShop today asking about the two different versions and got this reply :
So it is possible/probable that the one with 1982-2022 on the back was a trial/prototype pin and should not have appeared on the PoppyShop page.

.

PoppyShop have changed the photo of the rear of the Falklands 40 lapel pin to show the one they are actually selling , this is the same one that is being sent out to PAO's/Branches.


.

I have a pin with 'Lest we forget' marked on back from Poppy Shop

The PAO Order Portal shows the date only back as illustrated below

I will be able to confirm next week when I get some as it is possible they also got it wrong!

Mike C

Thanks for the information Mike , I don't think PoppyShop were aware they had the wrong image on their site until I e-mailed them yesterday.

I got an e-mail back within 1 hour asking for photos to show what the difference was and they replied quickly that they had made a mistake. Fair play to them and they changed the photo within 12 hours.

It may be that the PAO Order Portal were also using the wrong photo as I know that one PAO/Branch have just received (via their CFR) the ones with 'Lest We Forget'.

I think it is a shame that PoppyShop started selling 2022 dated pin at the end of January and the Falklands/Jubilee ones weeks before they were available to PAO/Branches .

.

There was a Royal Engineers Reunion in Ripon at the weekend where 11 Field Squadron (were in the Falklands in 1982) held a service at Ripon War Memorial on Saturday the 2nd, I could have sold so many had I got them in time!

Latest addition to my collection (Thanks Tim) .

.

I have just received 100 Falklands pins in bags of 50 via my CFR and they are the backs with dates and LEST WE FORGET on the rear

I have some more plus Jubilee pins and 2022 pins en route via Aylsford but I think they will be the same.

So if anyone finds a Falklands Pin without 'Lest we forget' on the back I am looking for one.

I think they must have been a prototype/trial version so will keep an eye on eBay , at least we know that they are an official RBL design.

.

Rugby Balls !
 

I thought last year's set of Rugby Balls , which were hard enough to get hold of , would be the latest ones around for a few year but there is a new set this year.

There are 5 of them , they are larger than all the previous ones and have a silver coloured back.



EDIT : I made a mistake , there are only 4 new pins . The Green one in the middle is to show the size difference. :o

.