A veteran’s widow left immobile after a fall has become the first to benefit from the Bermuda Legion’s Poppy Appeal in November.

The legion bought a bed hoist, which was installed yesterday by Lighthouse Medical Supplies, after the elderly woman was bedridden having been injured in the fall.

Carol Everson, case worker for the Bermuda Legion, said the woman, who has not been named, hoped to repay the veterans’ charity by volunteering when she was back on her feet.

Ms Everson added: “We are very happy to have been able to help — without this piece of equipment she could not turn or be lifted.”

Ms Everson told The Royal Gazette that the Legion had raised more than $23,000 from its 2018 appeal.

Last year marked the centenary of the end of the First World War and Bermudian poppies were redesigned with a leaf to mark the anniversary. Ms Everson said the number of poppy volunteers was down on previous years, but thanked Lieutenant-Colonel David Gibbons, a former commanding officer of the Royal Bermuda Regiment, for his help with the appeal.

Colonel Gibbons donated the ground floor of Thistle House in Hamilton for the appeal’s fundraising and poppy distribution centre from November 1 to 11.

Ms Everson said: “It was brilliant help and a beautiful location — we had a base on Burnaby Street for distribution and for the general public to walk in.”

She added: “We work all year round, not just in November, helping veterans with their welfare benefits and urgent needs.

“Our other duty is the remembrance and respect of the veterans from Bermuda who took part in two world conflicts.

“Their courage and dedication will never be forgotten.”

The legion spent about $5,000 on Christmas presents for 90 veterans or veterans’ widows in need and also bought Christmas hampers.

Ms Everson said the Legion had also put aside cash in the hope they could organise another dementia caregivers’ course in the spring.

The workshops help caregivers of people with dementia to qualify for cash help from the Government.

Previous courses, held in 2015 and 2017, were both oversubscribed.

Money raised from last year’s appeal also enabled the charity to distribute leaflets to explain the benefits available to veterans and their families and produce a booklet on the history of the Bermudians who served in the First World War.

Ms Everson thanked the Royal Bermuda Regiment for its preparation and service of the Remembrance Day lunch for veterans and John Kane, the World Rugby Classic president, for allowing the legion to collect at the event.

Other sponsors included supermarkets Lindo’s and MarketPlace, hardware store Gorham’s, wholesaler Butterfield & Vallis, professional services firm PwC, the Bermuda Sailors’ Home, and the Kiwanis Club of St George’s.

• To volunteer or donate to the Bermuda Legion, e-mail nosoldierleftbehind@hotmail.com or call 293-3975. Donations can be also be made to HSBC bank account 010 731 354 001