Best friends sell poppies in memory of late husband

Elsie Giddings, 89, and best friend Janet Hill, 77, spent two hours on Friday, November 8 at Tesco on Southampton Road selling poppies for the Royal British Legion (RBL) on a trip from their care home in Landford.

It was Janet's first time assisting with the poppy appeal, but for Elsie, it was a continued annual tradition. This year was her first time selling them without her husband, Bob, who passed away last year.

Elsie and Bob sold Poppies on behalf of the RBL for many years, as Bob was a member of the Salisbury Branch, having joined the Legion during his army service. As a retired MOD police officer, he stepped up to serve on the branch committee, becoming president. 

Elsie with her late husband, Bob (Image: RBL) Bob was a well-known figure in Salisbury, not least due to his support for the Poppy Appeal, and his friendships with many veterans of his generation.

After losing him last year, Elsie assumed she would not be selling poppies this year, however, her granddaughter, who also works at the care home, Lauren Speirs contacted with the RBL to ensure the tradition could continue.

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Elsie said: "We belonged to the British Legion so we got involved in everything. My husband was on the committee so we used to also sell them [poppies] on the streets.

Elsie with her granddaughter, Lauren (Image: Newsquest)

"Lauren wanted to do it for her grandparents. It's wonderful - I feel like I've been let loose!"

Lauren added: "I think for me, because her whole life got turned upside down when my grandad died - she moved out of her home and she moved into my care home - I thought it was some sort of normality."

Janet, who is "attached at the hip" to Elsie according to their carers, spent the days leading up to  it knitting poppies for their stall.

Janet hand knitted poppies to sell (Image: Newsquest) Before they lived together at Cedars, they knew each other from Elsie's time in Tesco and Janet passing through as a customer - "I always saw her dashing around all over the place in Tesco", Janet said.

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Poppy appeal volunteer Angela Ramsay-Clements, home services advisor Emma Sykes-Ellis, Janet Hill, Lauren Speirs and admin assistant Elsie Giddings (Image: Newsquest) Home services advisor at Barchester Emma Sykes-Ellis said: "It's all about person centred care, we look for those special memories we can create for residents so they can continue to celebrate life in our homes. For Elsie, it's selling poppies in Bob's memory."

Elsie added: "I'm sure he would be proud. He was proud of everything I did."