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January 21 2008

Want to find out about your military family history in 2008?  Log on to the brand new website: www.poppytravel.org.uk at The Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion, the custodians of Remembrance, has launched a brand new website www.poppytravel.org.uk and new-look 2008 brochure featuring information on the increasingly popular global battlefield tours and pilgrimages. 

Genealogy is very current and topical thanks to programmes such as the BBC’s
Who Do You Think You Are? and more people than ever are turning to Poppy Travel at The Royal British Legion in order to visit an area of the world a relative fought in.

Poppy Travel organises tours for individuals, groups, schools and new army recruits to war cemeteries, memorials and battlefield sites across the world.

Highlights of 2008 tours include exploring events in 1918 to mark the 90th Anniversary of the end of WW1, the 65th Anniversary of events in 1943 and 100 years since the founding of the Territorial Army, with Battlefield Tours and Pilgrimages commemorating the first actions by the TA in Flanders in 1914. 

Pilgrimages, which offer a more personal visit to a region, include The Menin Gate in Ypres during Remembrance in November to cover the 11th of the 11th, Sicily, Tunisia and Southern Italy, a Pilgrimage outlining the story of the V weapons from Peenemunde to London, Dambusters and Chindits Pilgrimages and a new two day Pilgrimage to visit cemeteries and memorials in the channel ports and Arras areas. There are many other favourite destinations to explore such as the Monte Cassino Pilgrimage, Cairo, Suez and the Red Sea, Ypres and The Somme and the French Coast Pilgrimage.

Special Battlefield Tours this year will include tours to the sites of the air war fought over France and Flanders to mark the 90th Anniversary of the RAF, new one day tours visiting places of remembrance in the UK such as ‘Walking The Blitz’ and ‘Battle Of Britain Day’, the Zebrugge Raid on St George’s Day 1918, Tanzania- the scene of fighting in East Africa, tours in Italy, a Falklands walking tour, a 60th anniversary tour to Belize to commemorate the start of the threat to Belize and a return to the BAOR Cold War Battlefield tour.

Full details are available at: www.poppytravel.org.uk

For press enquiries and to receive a brochure contact: Jenny Keeling, Public Relations Officer, The Royal British Legion - tel: 020 7302 7140; mob: 07966 548232; email jkeeling@britishlegion.org.uk  or log on to www.poppytravel.org.uk to see our brand new website.

Notes to Editors:

We are offering limited press places on tours to journalists for the very first time in 2008.  Please contact Jenny Keeling; PR Officer (details above) to discuss possibilities.

All Poppy Travel information can be found at: www.poppytravel.org.uk including the Poppy Travel podcast.

The Royal British Legion protects the interests, welfare and memory of British serving and ex-Service people and their dependants.  Around 10.5 million people – of all ages – are eligible to approach the Legion for support.  Our charitable work covers a range of services including grant-making to those in need, pensions and benefits advice, vocational assessment and careers advice, home and hospital visits as well as the provision of full nursing care.

For further information about the Legion’s work please visit www.britishlegion.org.uk

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