25 October 2019
At 11.30am, the Johnny Johnson MBE DFM engine pulled into Bristol Temple Meads Station. Little did the passengers know but the real Johnny Johnson MBE DFM, the last surviving airman of the World War II Dam Busters' Operation Chastise, was at the Platform ready to launch the Bristol Poppy Appeal. Young Clara Della-Porta presented both Mrs Peaches Golding OBE (HM Lord-Lieutenant for Bristol) and Johnny with a poppy appeal pin in the shape of the F-35B Lightning II plane of 617 Squadron. These aircraft will fly from HMS PRINCE OF WALES, the aircraft carrier affiliated with the City of Bristol. Johnny then presented similar pins to NetworkRail and GWR staff as well as military representatives based at the MOD Abbeywood and Yeovilton Royal Naval Airbase. Clara and other pupils from Ecole Française de Bristol created a beautiful mural called ‘Merci a tous de la Normandie’ in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Donations to the Poppy Appeal honour those who served the Nation in conflict and war.