On Thursday 30 October 2025, we all gathered at Royal Russell for an early start at 05:00 am. We made our way to the tram stop where we would start making our way to London Victoria, one of London’s busiest stations. At Victoria we were volunteering for the Royal British Legion, collecting donations and doing our best to raise as much money as possible! As we were in such a busy area, representing Royal Russell Cadets, uniform had to be very sharp, with extra shiny boots!

After we arrived at Victoria, we were greeted by some people part of the RBL, then briefed on what we were doing throughout the day, Including what we were selling and how to work card machines. After our quick brief it was time to set up. We had to set up quickly as we about to hit rush hour, where we have more possible customers. So, in groups between 3 and 5, we set up both tables and groups to walk around the station with trays and donation buckets. Then after our tables were set up we were given a McDonald’s breakfast, courtesy of the officers, which was delicious.

We managed to draw lots of people over to our tables and donate to the British Legion. As a contingent we raised well over £34,000. Despite our achy feet, we’re proud to say that we smashed our goal for this year and had lots of fun being able to raise all this money for a good cause.

Throughout the day, we got to meet lots of interesting people who were also involved in volunteering for the RBL that day. We saw RAF officers in their number 1 uniforms, we saw many Army soldiers from all Regiments including some FANY’s, all with trays of poppy’s and buckets. As well as this, we got to see the Band of the Royal Marines play all sorts of music, from movies like Jurassic Park and Top Gun and everyday songs too! They were all in extra smart uniform with white hats and instruments. I really enjoyed listening to the music as it was a great pick me up after a few hours of volunteering.

Later in the afternoon, a couple of us got to go with a couple of FANY cadets to collect donations with Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch! Walking around with her in Victoria felt so special and we were very grateful for the opportunity to meet someone like Kemi. She greeted us kindly and carried her own poppy tray around to collect donations with us! And, right before she had to take off, we were lucky enough to get a photo with her and say our final goodbyes.

After a long day of volunteering, we began to pack up at 1850hrs, returning all poppy trays, folding tables and table cloths and our buckets full of donations! We finished off with a final good bye from the people from RBL and we all received a poppy pin that says volunteer! Despite the early meet time at 0500hrs, we worked hard for the whole 13hrs and we had loads of fun collecting donations for the Royal British Legion. This was RRS 5th year, volunteering for the RBL London Poppy Day, and it seems we get more successful every year! Let’s hope we can beat this year’s amount next year in 2026!

Written By: Lance Corporal M Goosens