Elaine Court, past Air Force personnel, Clive Carter (centre), who did compulsory military training in the 1950's and Vietnam veteran Percy Blundell, sell poppies in the Cameron St Mall yesterday.
Elaine Court, past Air Force personnel, Clive Carter (centre), who did compulsory military training in the 1950's and Vietnam veteran Percy Blundell, sell poppies in the Cameron St Mall yesterday.
Thousands of poppies were sold and worn with pride, across Northland for the annual RSA Poppy Appeal.
RSA volunteers were out in force yesterday across Northland and the rest of the country selling the bright red reminders of those who have fallen in wars.
The Poppy Appeal is vital tothe RSA, which helps veterans and their families. The 2018 appeal theme is "not all wounds bleed".
The theme highlights the fact that mental health injuries are the most common, but least understood, of all wounds suffered by New Zealand servicemen and women.
The appeal raises vital funds to support the growing needs of New Zealand's 41,000 veterans and their families.
Post-traumatic stress injuries take a heavy toll on service personnel.
RSA national president BJ Clark said the RSA was committed to providing a wide range of help to former members of the military who had served in deployments around the world.
"There's a growing demand for our support services, including an increasing number with service-induced mental health injuries. These are best described as any persistent psychological difficulty resulting from duties.
"These injuries may occur because of exposure to trauma or stress arising from combat, operational duties in a conflict zone, or other traumatic or serious events such as civil defence emergency or disaster relief," Mr Clark said.
The Poppy Appeal is held before Anzac Day commendations on April 25. This year also marks 100 years since the end of World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (11am on November 11).
