Nigel Farage Pays Tribute To Britain's Longest-Serving Poppy Seller Rosemary Powell

26 August 2018, 13:58 | Updated: 26 August 2018, 14:14

Rosemary Powell began selling poppies in 1921, and is thought to be Britain's longest-serving poppy seller.

Nigel Farage pays a touching tribute to a 103-year-old poppy seller who died just nine days after receiving an MBE.

Rosemary Powell began selling poppies at the age of 6 with her mother on Richmond Bridge for the Royal British Legion's first Poppy Appeal in 1921.

The LBC presenter described how her son Giles called his show on Remembrance Sunday last year to say that his mother was collecting for the appeal, and had done every single year.

"I'm struggling with the arithmetic," he said.

It was after that, she found recognition in the form of an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours.

"She sold poppies all the way through from 1921 to 2017," said Nigel.

"There's one happy ending to this sad story, she actually got presented with her MBE nine days before she died.

"So she got recognised for being the longest-running poppy seller ever."

Nigel was delighted to hear that Rosemary was to be appointed an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list earlier this year.

Speaking to Nigel in June, her son Giles said that she was one of the new remaining nurses from before the NHS was founded yo years ago.

"She has a few good memories of being a nurse in addition to selling poppies," he said.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion described Rosemary as an "exceptional woman" and a "true role model".

"Rosemary's dedication to the Legion, and to the Poppy Appeal over 97 years, was nothing short of remarkable," he said