Why Does the Veterans' Foundation support The Poppy Factory?

For over 97 years, The Poppy Factory has been supporting veterans with significant health barriers, both mental and physical, who are struggling to find meaningful employment after leaving the Armed Forces. 

With support from the charity, ex-servicemen and women are able to change their lives and find a new sense of purpose. 

When Major George Howson MC - British Army Officer and winner of the Military Cross - founded The Poppy Factory in 1922, his vision was to create an organisation that was able to provide work for veterans injured during WWI.

He bought land in Richmond, Surrey, and built a factory where the charity still makes Remembrance poppies, wreaths and Remembrance symbols. The factory’s location, close to the River Thames and Richmond Park, was carefully chosen to help injured soldiers’ recovery and rehabilitation after the war. 

In 2010, The Poppy Factory created the Getting You Back To Work service. The aim was to help veterans find jobs within their own communities that harness the skills they developed in the services. In 2018, Poppy Factory celebrated supporting 1,000 wounded, injured and sick veterans into civilian employment.

Steven, a former soldier with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, joined the Army as a Reservist in 2002 at the age 18. He served in Iraq with the Staffordshire Regiment. He explains how Poppy Factory have helped him:

“It had been quite a tough tour in 2005. On the evening of my birthday, July 16th, we were on a routine patrol in Al Amarah when we were hit by a roadside bomb. Sadly, three of my friends who were in the vehicle in front of me were killed: Private Phillip Hewett, 2nd Lieutenant Richard Shearer and Private Leon Spicer. That’s when I made contact with The Poppy Factory.

“Rebecca, my employability consultant, got in touch and we had a chat over the phone at first, and then in a café near my house. We had a connection because she served in the Army too, and she grew up very close to me in the West Midlands. Rebecca has a very good knowledge of Civvy Street. She found me a job to apply for at Extreme Hire and I could see it was an opportunity I had to grasp with both hands, to help me get back to how I used to be as a person.”