Major George Vosper, Adjutant General's Corps, Staff and Personnel Support, of 6 Rifles in Exeter has served in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

George lives in Ivybridge and has been with the army for 28 years.

George says: 'As I write this the Ministry of Defence has announced the death of another soldier in Afghanistan, Wootton Bassett has received its Royal Assent and the Royal British Legion are launching their Poppy Appeal.

'Remembrance is as relevant as ever.

'Like many serving and ex-serving personnel in Ivybridge, I have served on operations and have seen the coffins of comrades carried onto aeroplanes for the final flight home.

'A thousand men and women line the runway at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, as the huge RAF C-17 takes off, turns and flys low over the assembled parade, dipping its wing in salute before soaring off into the desert sky – homeward bound.

'It is a sad but proud moment and that for me is what remembrance is about – a feeling of loss and sadness for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice but enormous pride in their achievements and, for those that I knew, to remember them.

'To see their faces, remember their smiles and think back to happy times spent together.

'But it is also important to remember those who still serve, those who have been injured and are battling back to fitness and our veterans who gave us the values and traditions we live by today particularly those who have fallen on hard times and need some help.

'That is why I am a member of the Royal British Legion and why I will be helping to collect for the Poppy Appeal.

'The Poppy Appeal raised £35 million in 2010, with Ivybridge raising an incredible £22,000.

'That money is put to use across the country in a variety of ways, from funding rehabilitation for wounded servicemen, providing care homes for elderly veterans, education and re-training, small business loans and a myriad of welfare grants for those who have fallen on hard times.

'I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my Legion comrades.

'Please help us to remember them all.'

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FORMER Royal Navy Petty Officer David Cosh fought in three conflicts during a 24-year career in the service.

David joined the Navy in 1975, and a year later was posted to his first conflict: the Cold War onboard HMS Galatea.

In 1979 he joined HMS Danae, based at Devonport Docks in Plymouth. After sea trials David was sent out to the Falklands for his second conflict in 1982.

David said: 'I left the Danae in January 1983 and served in Gibraltar for three years on what the services call a married accompaniment (my wife and family came with me).

'This was a very good time as we were married in 1979 and had not had much time together.

'We were in Gibraltar for two-and-a-half years and my second daughter was born there.

'When we returned I had to catch up on courses, having been out of the loop for so long'.

David joined HMS Battleaxe in late 1986 and set about passing exams for promotion.

When he left HMS Battleaxe he had been promoted to Petty Officer.

It was then off again for more courses, leadership and an ASWD (anti submarine warfare director) accreditation.

David then joined HMS Brilliant, and sailed for the first Gulf war.

David said: 'We were the first ship with sea going Wrens onboard and was the first ship to enter Kuwait at the end of the war'.

David's last sea draft was onboard HMS Campbeltown, which he left in December 1997. He was then an instructor at HMS Raleigh until leaving the service in 1999.

David said: 'Remembrance Day for me is a time to remember friends and colleagues lost in the Falklands and first Gulf war, and is also a time to get together with fellow ex-service men.

'I have six service medals, four of which I wear, the other two were presented by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

'I can not speak for how my wife felt for the times I was away, but I know it takes a special kind to do it. We have now been happily married for 32 years.

'As the poppy appeal organiser for Ivybridge I am looking forward to this year's appeal and collecting money to help those serving and ex-serving'.

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Simon Henderson was vice chairman of the Kingsbridge branch of the RBL until this year when he gave it up to concentrate on his charity walk from John o'Groats to Land's End.

He has been a member of the branch for seven years and is a previous branch secretary. As a regular soldier from 1962 to 1978 he served in the Royal Artillery and was stationed in many parts of the world including Malaya, Canada, Germany and Northern Ireland. An early highlight in his army career was to be part of the Honour Guard for the Queen when she reopened Coventry Cathedral.

Simon has three medals: general service medal for Northern Ireland, long service and good conduct and the British Army of the Rhine medal.

Mr Henderson said: 'I travelled the world with the Army. In many countries you can see and hear what those who died had done to keep them free and not under a foreign yoke.

'In Canada the Canadian Legion is as strong as ours. It is important that those who are alive today, young or old are reminded of the debt we owe to the dead of WWII and WWI as well as all of the fighting since – Korea, Vietnam, the Balkans etc. Our soldiers don't ask for much, just some respect for a job well done.

'Sadly there are a lot of people who have little or no respect for those who maintain the freedom that allows us to speak freely without fear of repression.

'Unlike some countries, we are a free democracy, never forget that.'