More than 20 standard bearers flanked the Field of Remembrance yesterday morning Picture: ROB CURRIE (00819061)

THE Royal British Legion in Jersey is hoping to double the amount of money it raised last year during the Poppy Appeal in support of soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Islanders gave £135,000 to the appeal last year – the highest amount ever collected in Jersey. Most of that went towards supporting ex-servicemen and women living in the Island, the majority of whom served in the Second World War and related conflicts.

Jersey branch chairman Ken Soar said that the support of veterans in Jersey, many of whom fought in the Second World War, would continue in exactly the same way.

‘But we are hoping to double the amount collected in the Island last year so that we can also give a significant contribution to the needs of young ex-servicemen and women in the UK who have returned from Afghanistan or Iraq with severe injuries,’ he said.

The Legion’s 2009 appeal, which was launched at a special service at the Cenotaph on Sunday, is being backed up by a short film featuring two members of the Jersey Field Squadron – sapper Ashley ‘Mac’ McDonald and Lance Corporal Chris Purdie, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. The film is being shown in the Elizabeth Terminal until 11 November.