JCB employees have helped to raise thousands of pounds for this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal by snapping up commemorative digger-themed pin badges.
The poppy pin badges – the brainchild of retired Staffordshire firefighter Kelvin Chell – feature a JCB backhoe loader and have been sold at all of the company’s UK manufacturing sites in the run up to Armistice Day.
The initiative raised more than £11,400, with JCB boosting the total to £12,500.
Within days of being offered for sale, employees bought all 2,400 of the badges, while Kelvin has sold another 850 at local retail outlets and online, with orders from as far afield as the US, Canada, Ireland, and the Orkney Islands.
Kelvin, who has produced 39 different themed poppy badges in recent years, approached JCB on hearing it was the company’s 80th anniversary last year. After giving its seal of approval to the design, the company, and Fenton-based JCB supplier Rayne Engineering, joined forces to help fund production of the badges.
The bespoke design has helped take Kelvin’s fundraising total for the Royal British Legion past the £150,000 mark over the last six years. He said, “Sales of the JCB badges have been brilliant. I have had orders from all over the world and we could definitely have sold more. I am very grateful for the support of JCB and Rayne Engineering in bringing this idea to life. The Royal British Legion is a cause close to my heart and every badge sold will help veterans and their families.”
JCB head of defence, former army brigadier Adam Fraser-Hitchen DL, officially handed over the funds raised at JCB World Headquarters, in Rocester. He added, “It has been a real privilege for the company to support Kelvin’s incredible fundraising work and it is no surprise that the badges have sold out so quickly. As a company we hold the UK’s Armed Forces in high regard and we employ many veterans.”
Annemarie Jones, regional Poppy Appeal manager for the north east and north west Midlands, said, “We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of JCB and Kelvin. This has been a lovely initiative which has raised important funds for the armed services community.”
The pin-badge fundraiser continues JCB’s longstanding support for the Royal British Legion, including the unveiling of a special poppy-themed machine which was auctioned in 2018 to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
