THE Royal British Legion celebrated the fourth birthday of its town centre pop-in branch and received a donation of £876 from none other than the Swindon Advertiser.

The money was raised by clients who advertised in the paper’s Armistice supplement over the Remembrance weekend.

Darren Jackson from our advertising team presented a cheque to William Fishlock, one of the Deputy Lieutenants for Wiltshire.

Mr Fishlock said: “I’m delighted to be here. Face-to-face contact is so important and that’s what is reflected here during this very difficult time to raise money for charity and for this kind of work.

“The fact that the RBL started here four years ago and have managed to keep it going for so long is tremendous.

“People have had somewhere to go which they know well, which is open, and has a friendly face ready to greet them as they come in. Let’s hope this continues for a long time.”

Phil Nobbs, vice chairman and treasurer of the Swindon branch of the RBL, said: “It’s absolutely wonderful that you’ve raised so much, this money will make a huge difference. Every penny helps support the work we do with ex-servicemen who need financial, mental health or disability support.

“It’s been really busy here and it keeps getting busier, some people come in every day.

“We desperately need volunteers for taking out Poppy Appeal tins and boxes to businesses in Swindon - the more we have, the more money we can raise, anyone interested should visit us.”

Peter Waterfall from Freshbrook served in the army for 15 years and regularly pops into the pop-in for support and a chat.

The 73-year-old said: “I come in here quite a lot and I don’t know what I’d do without them, they are very good people.

“When you come out of the army, there’s nothing else to support you, so this place is a marvellous thing to have available.

“It’s a wonderful organisation which has helped me so much over the last year.

“I had mobility issues and was stuck in the house for a long time but SAFA raised enough money to pay for a mobility scooter so I could get out and about.

“I took the wife on a holiday in Weston Super Mare for a week and stayed at a Royal British Legion - they paid for the lot, even the train journey, which was lovely.”

The birthday celebrations were held yesterday, during the fourth coffee morning organised by the RBL to raise money for Help for Heroes.

The RBL’s Swindon branch has so far raised £94,800 in 2018 and there is more money coming in which could boost the estimated end-of-year total to as much as £110,000.

The biggest amounts of money came from the charity setting up a table at Marks and Spencer on Regent Street, where kind shoppers donated £11,718.

Shoppers at Sainsbury’s in the Brunel Shopping Centre and Stratton donated £8,220 and £10,013, respectively.