As the United Kingdom prepared to remember those whose bravery preserved its freedom, Transdev in the North of England planned its own moving tribute to the fallen.
The company adorned many of its buses on routes across the North with commemorative poppies to encourage its thousands of customers travelling each day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The poppies were prominently displayed on the front of buses on routes covering hundreds of miles across the North, from Preston and Manchester in the west to the Yorkshire Coast in the east.
This year’s Remembrance has additional significance, marking 75 years since the end of World War Two. With the pandemic continuing, this is a year like no other for us all, so we believe it’s right to continue our support for the excellent work done by the Royal British Legion.
We hope that by prominently showing our support for the Poppy Appeal on our buses, many of our customers will join us in contributing to this excellent cause.
All our teams at our depots across the North are fully behind this – we want to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom, and to support those living with the impact of conflict today.
Alex Hornby, CEO of Transdev Blazefield
We are very grateful for this support – the COVID-19 pandemic has had an overwhelming impact on people’s livelihoods and way of life, leaving some in our Armed Forces community in dire need of urgent help and support.
The Legion’s work is more vital than ever as we support our community through additional hardships, from those struggling with social isolation, financial difficulties and unemployment to those who have lost loved ones or are facing the threat of homelessness. Every poppy counts.
Debbie Harding, The Royal British Legion’s Area Manager for Yorkshire
Transdev now hopes that as a highly visible symbol of remembrance, its bus poppies will help to encourage its customers to buy and wear their own poppies with pride.
Buses run by each of Transdev’s nine local bus operations across the North displays poppies ahead of Remembrance Day in the UK on November 8th, when despite the pandemic restrictions, the region and the nation paused to remember the fallen.