The Royal British Legion's 2020 Poppy Appeal is now officially under way, and the Dawlish RBL branch's large poppies have once again gone on display along the Strand.

But because of Covid-19 restrictions, the branch cannot sell poppies in the street this year, and there will be no collecting for the appeal at the local Sainsburys supermarket either.

The Dawlish RBL said it will be holding a stall to sell poppies, with a no-contact approach to maintain social distancing, but details have not yet been announced. It will depend upon the availability of volunteers, and the weather.

In the meantime, there are collecting tins and poppies in shops, cafés, restaurants, take-aways and pubs throughout Dawlish.

This year's poppy pin, along with a commemorative 75 year VE pin are available to buy from the Royal British Legion club on Park Road.

Dawlish's poppy wall

This year, Dawlish will also have a 'wall' of knitted poppies adorning the lower railing of the bowling green on the Lawn, at the back of the bandstand.

The plan is to cover the fence with as many knitted or crocheted poppies as possible.

These can be bought from local shops, with a donation to the poppy appeal, or people can knit or crochet their own. A standard pattern can be found online, or paper knitting papers can be collected from the Manor House Town Council office.

Remembrance events

Dawlish's usual Remembrance Sunday parade, and the service at St Gregory's Church, cannot take place this year, but there will be an invitation-only service at the Memorial Garden, with representatives from the clergy, the Royal British Legion and Dawlish Town Council.

Organisations wishing to lay can do so between 8.30am and 10am on Sunday, November 8, and a member of the town council's staff will take the names of the wreath-layers so that they can be read out during the service.

The service will be broadcast on Facebook later in the day, and copies will be available on the town council's website.

At 11am on Wednesday, November 11, there will be a two-minute silence at the bandstand. A starting pistol fired by a member of the Royal British Legion from the bandstand will signal the beginning and end of the silence.