Royal British Legion - Poppy Appeal

Poppy Appeal

Each November, the Royal British Legion holds its Poppy Appeal--raising tens of millions of pounds for veterans and their families. Thousands of volunteers get in the act, selling poppies around the UK. In 2008, I spent seven days documenting their army of volunteers across London. The photographs were used for the legion's website, internal communications, and disseminated to the media.  

A man buys a poppy from a soldier. 

A woman chats with a soldier selling poppies. 

On assignment

Over the period of seven days, I photographed sellers - alone and in groups - with a particular focus on volunteer servicemen and women. I was also tasked to capture the interaction between volunteers and buyers, as well as the ongoing related events around London.

With just seven working days, time management was key, as was negotiating permissions to shoot in various locales across the city. 

Children offer donations to a poppy seller. 

Servicemen and women outside Canary Wharf. 

Volunteers count money raised by sellers.

Volunteers count money raised by sellers.

A seller inside a tube station in London.

Using Format