FORMER Master at Arms in the Royal Navy, Richard Hayward, is once again hard at work in and around Dawlish town raising money for the Royal British Legion.
A long time member of the Dawlish branch of the RBL, Richard is well known in the community for raising money for the charity whose mission it is to support current and former members of the Armed Forces and their families.
Since 2015 Richard has taken part in the Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal in a rather unique way: creating a commemorative pin badge for the year’s Remembrance Day.
Richard designs a different badge each year and this year’s badge combines elements of the traditional poppy with the black swan motif synonymous with Dawlish.
The costs involved in both the design and production processes are taken care of by Richard who can be seen selling the pin badges across Dawlish, the proceeds of which are donated to the Royal British Legion.
As of October 28 Richard has sold 773 of the 1,000 pin badges he’s had made - raising an estimated profit of more than £2,000.
Richard’s efforts to raise money for the Royal British Legion have led him to organise numerous boat trips, abseil down Canonteign Falls, and in 2019 to take part in a 10-hour bowl-a-thon which was attended by none other than England’s Lee Haywood.