Two rival organisations will be selling poppies ahead of Remembrance Day this year as the Bermuda War Veterans Association (BWVA) and Royal British Legion (RBL) remain at loggerheads.

The row was sparked by the RBL — a global charity based in London which assists war veterans and ex-service people — withdrawing support for the BWVA.

It has banned it from selling RBL poppies and keeping the funds for itself as it has done for decades.

As previously reported, letters obtained by reveal how the RBL has told the BWVA it is unhappy it does not help soldiers who served on the home front rather than overseas and believes it has "seriously misled" donors and accumulated funds using the poppy appeal which were not distributed as they should have been.

The RBL told the BWVA that in future, all monies from the Bermuda poppy appeal must be passed back to the RBL and they will be used for "welfare work for the whole of the qualifying community in accordance with the Legion's welfare policies".

Now, the BWVA — which has refuted the RBL allegations as "a lot of rubbish — an awful lot of untruths" — intends to buy poppies from the Royal Canadian Legion instead. BWVA trustees claimed yesterday that the Canadian organisation is happy for it to keep the money for its veterans.

With RBL caseworker on the Island Carol Everson planning to conduct an appeal for the RBL using RBL poppies, members of the public may have to decide which tin to place their donation in next month.

Jack Lightbourn of the WVA told his organisation will place newspaper adverts ahead of Remembrance Day urging people to stick with them.

"This could be a very unfortunate and rather nasty affair but we intend to notify the Bermuda public of what has taken place and appeal to them to continue to help us as they have in the past," he said yesterday after a meeting with Ms Everson failed to resolve the dispute.

Mr. Lightbourn said Ms Everson wanted to explore how the two organisations could join forces. "That's something which, frankly, we were not in favour of. We've been buying poppies from the British Legion since 1922 and never ever had any direction from them in any way whatsoever as to how we should sell those and what we should do with the proceeds. The proceeds have always been placed entirely in favour of our own War Veterans Association, their needs and the needs of their dependents," he said.

He said the adverts would point out the differing aims and objectives of the two organisations, stressing that the BWVA exists to help those who have served overseas.

He added: "Since 1922, we have managed to do this quite successfully on our own and we do not see that Ms Everson has anything to add or to help us in our endeavours and we have informed her as such."

H. Francis Stephens, another trustee of the WVA, said: "We tried to find a bridge that would satisfy both the parties, but no way can this be accomplished because of what the BWVA stand for and what the RBL stands for.

"She (Ms Everson) started bringing in about education and all the things the RBL do. We're not interested in that."

Ms Everson has said that as caseworker, she will be able to call on funds from the Legion's $150 million per annum worldwide funding pot and other associated charities to help those in need with a range of issues including housing and debt relief — whether they served at home or abroad. Speaking after the meeting, she claimed the BWVA representatives would not look at her brochures explaining the assistance the RBL can offer.

"I had gone with every expectation of a positive outcome, that we could have a united poppy appeal that would benefit everyone," she said. "I will not give up hope of the poppy appeal taking place as it should."

The Mayors of Hamilton and St. George have differing stances on which of the two organisations will be permitted to mount a poppy appeal on their streets.

Mayor of Hamilton Sutherland Madeiros, speaking last week, said there is no slot available for the Legion to fundraise on the streets of the City. He told : "The Association has for many years had permission to sell poppies on the streets of Hamilton and from our perspective there's no reason why they should not continue." But, he explained, only 12 charities per year only have permission to fundraise on the streets as more could be too much for the public to take.

The War Veterans Association is one of them. However, the Mayor said there is no more space for the Legion to fundraise separately and they would have to "get in line" with other charities waiting for a tag day spot. However, Mayor of St. George Mariea Caisey said: "There's only one group that have come to me and that's the Royal British Legion. They've come to me and asked permission and as they are the ones with the copyright to the poppy they are the ones with the rights to sell the poppy."