Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, is supporting the Poppies for Schools campaign which is being driven by local resident, Mr Stanley Kaye of Holme, near Peterborough. Mr Vara, along with Mr Kaye, recently visited the site of Unwins Seeds in Alconbury Hill, who are donating seeds to the campaign.

Unwins have so far given in the region of 2000 packets of poppy seeds to get school children planting in order to commemorate the centenary next year of the Great War. Mr Vara has been supporting the campaign from the start and has contacted school authorities in the East of England so that as many children as possible can take part.

The campaign has gone from strength to strength and the visit to Unwins included a meeting as to the way forward for the Poppies for Schools campaign which it is hoped will have a wider rollout to East Anglia and Yorkshire where Unwins has operational sites.

As well as a meeting for the campaign, Mr Vara had a tour of Unwins premises to gain a greater insight into their business.

Mr Vara said: -

“I am a very keen supporter of Stanley Kaye’s Poppies for Schools campaign and am delighted to be supporting him. It is also great to see Unwins Seeds, one of our local leading companies, being so generous and keen to help with this very worthwhile cause.”

‘’The campaign has gone from strength to strength and it is good to see its support grow by the day. I will continue to work with Mr Kaye and Unwins as the campaign extends to other parts of the country.’’

Mr Ed Schofield, Head of e-commerce at Unwins Seeds said:

“Unwins Seeds wholeheartedly support this campaign and we would like to see a veritable sea of poppies across East Anglia and Yorkshire for next year’s Centenary of Remembrance.

“As a local employer, we feel it is important that our children understand the meaning of the poppy and take pride in it as our symbol of remembrance – we owe it to those who died so we might have a future – to never forget.”


Photo: Shailesh Vara MP, Mr Ed Schofield, Head of e-Commerce at Unwins Seeds, Mr Ken Evans, Commercial Director of Unwins Seeds and Mr Stanley Kaye.