Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois has welcomed two pupils from FitzWimarc School in Rayleigh to Westminster, to congratulate them on their award winning fund raising efforts on behalf of the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal.
Ben Coombes and Nathan Bull, who are both 12 year olds in year 8, were awarded the prestigious Royal British Legions ‘Friends of the Forces Award’ by Prince Harry for their efforts in organising a Christmas Raffle which raised £240 and a further ‘Chocolate themed’ raffle raising another £200 for the poppy appeal. In order to achieve this impressive total they gave up their lunch breaks to organise the raffle and sell tickets and put a lot of effort into finding prizes from friends and family as well as businesses even including Harrods.
On hearing of the hard work the two pupils had undertaken on behalf of the Royal British Legion Mark decided to invite them to Westminster in order to thank them for their efforts. Mark organised a tour of Parliament for the two boys and their proud parents and talked to them about their efforts and plans for the future.
Speaking after welcoming the two young fundraisers to Westminster, Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois MP said:
“I was very impressed when I heard of the hard work that Ben and Nathan have done in raising money for the poppy appeal. As a former TA soldier myself during the Cold War and also as the patron of the Rayleigh branch of the Royal British Legion, I wanted to thank these enterprising young men on behalf of our servicemen.”