The Royal British Legion is honouring the memory of the war's heroes with a unique tribute — planting a Flanders' Field of Poppies at the Menin Gate in Flanders.
And the The Falkirk Herald is also honouring the milestone by launching its own ca
mpaign.
'Remember our Heroes: Past and Present' will salute all of those who have fought valiantly for their country in the past 90 years ...
and those who are still in active duty.
Today, around 185,000 men and women are enlisted with the UK regular forces.
Many thousands of these British servicemen and women are fighting on the front line. It's a very different threat yet, as the Glasgow Airport attack proved, a very real one they are battling — the war against terrorism.
The 'Remember our Heroes: Past and Present' campaign aims to honour those still in active duty, as well as their former comrades.
To achieve this, over the next five weeks we will feature Herald Heroes currently serving, as well as veterans who remember only too well the sacrifices made in the line of duty.
In addition, we are backing the MOD–sanctioned Christmas parcel appeal run by the charity Support Our Soldiers ... to help bring a bit
of Christmas cheer to our troops around the globe this festive
season.
However, we need YOUR support to ensure our campaign is a success. So we are now appealing to readers, organisations, schools and businesses to donate goods to the parcel appeal.
Editor Colin Hume said: "Many servicemen and women receive parcels from loved ones back home but it's a sad fact that others do not ... as they simply have no-one of their own to send such basic luxuries as soap and sweets.
"We believe our troops deserve some support from their country men and women and so the campaign was born.''
Support our Soldiers has furnished us with a list of items which would be a welcome treat for our troops on the front line.
- Toiletries - Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, roll–on deodorant, razors, shaving gel, talcum powder, cotton buds, wet wipes, tissues, lip salve, travel wash, sanitary protection, combs, face cloths.
- Pharmacy – Imodium, Rennie, Paracetamol, plasters, insect repellant, sun screen, eye drops.
- Savoury snacks - Pringles, crisps, nuts, pork scratchings, beef jerky, savoury rice, noodles, oatcakes, crackers, stock cubes, packet soups, small tins tuna.
- Sweet snacks - Fruit/cereal bars, fruit flakes, dried fruit, shortbread, small cakes, biscuits, small tins/tubs of fruit, packets of custard, evaporated milk, condensed milk, tubs of jelly, small jars of jam/marmalade.
- Confectionery - Travel sweets, toffee, fudge, Mars bars, chocolate raisins, chocolate peanuts, energy sweets, Love Hearts, Fruit Pastilles, lollipops, mints, chewing gum.
- Drinks - Teabags, coffee sachets, small bottles of Irn–Bru/cola, fruit shoots, orange sachets.
- Clothing - Socks, male/female underwear, t–shirts, thermal underwear.
- Recreation - Paperback books, magazines, puzzle books, sport programmes, playing cards, travel games, jigsaws, pens, pencils, notebooks, artist paints, sketch books, DVDs, small football/rugby balls, dominoes.
- Miscellaneous - Boot laces, safety matches, nail clippers, batteries, blank greetings cards and, most of all, messages of support, (Christmas cards, Santa hats, for Christmas appeal).
The key is to keep items small and light as they are packed into shoeboxes which are weight and size restricted. Travel/individual sizes are better than family packs. Aerosols, alcohol and lighters are strictly prohibited.
Donations can be handed in to The Falkirk Herald offices in Redbrae Road, Camelon, or Manor Street, Falkirk. All of the goods donated to 'Remember our Heroes: Past and Present' will be parcelled up by Support our Soldiers and sent to our troops in time for Christmas.
