The daughter of a Second World War veteran who died last year at the age of 103 has criticised people trying to make money from selling counterfeit Remembrance Day items.
The i Paper revealed how online sellers are cashing in on the poppy symbol – which the Royal British Legion (RBL) has trademarks for – and pocketing the proceeds.
Lindsey McCaig, 58, who lives in Manchester, is the daughter of Corporal Donald McCaig, a veteran of the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa and Monte Cassino in Italy. He died at the age of 103 last December.
She slammed the selling of poppy and remembrance items for profit instead of charities supporting veterans.
“I think it is wicked,” she said. “I feel all proceeds from the poppy should go to charities that help ex-veterans – they shouldn’t be for people’s personal gain.“The poppy symbol is a charitable thing to honour and give thanks to service people for what they did. It’s not there to make people rich.”
Mr McCaig was actually born on Armistice Day on 11th November 1921 and Remembrance Day was always a momentous occasion for him. He was a member of the now disbanded 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bay) regiment.
Mr McCaig died last December, a month after his 103rd birthday. He had been living in a residential care home since the age of 97.
Mr McCaig with his wife Hilda on their wedding day. He met her just before he went to war and married her when he returned. They went on to enjoy 80 years togetherHis daughter told The i Paper that Remembrance Day was always close to the heart of her father and their whole family and they even had a poppy theme for his funeral in January, asking people to wear official poppy memorabilia, with many making donations to the RBL in his memory.
She said: “Remembrance Day is very important to us and we want to honour the sacrifices made by people like my dad and others. After he died and we let the army know, we realised that he had only been 18 and one month old when he went into service.
“My dad didn’t talk about the people they lost during his service very much, but we knew it affected him greatly. In the 1980s, he and my mum did a tour of the Italian war cemeteries and my mum reported back that he was really upset.
“He was very young and the people he served with were like his family. He once told me that they had to bury some of them where they fell. Knowing all this, it makes me feel very angry and sad to know people are using the poppy symbol for their own ends.
“It is upsetting and distressing that people are cashing in and making money out of the poppy symbol and Remembrance Day.”
Ms McCaig, whose father had three children, three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren, said her dad would be saddened and disappointed to know people are making money on the memories of veterans, as he was a lifelong member and great supporter of the British Legion.
Mr McCaig had only just turned 18 when he went into serviceShe said: “Ex-veterans need a lot of support, even today, once they have left the Forces. Charities rely on the donations that people give, so it is wrong for people to be making money out of this.
“I always buy poppy memorabilia from the RBL and I have bought some memorabilia from Amazon in the past – but only when the seller states that they will be donating to an armed forces charity.
“I have always participated in Remembrance Day and so have the rest of the family and we want to pay our respects to those who sacrificed so much. Even though I’ve probably got drawers full of poppies, I always buy more every year. But I always make sure I buy from official RBL poppy sellers.”
Ms McCaig added: “The people selling this fake poppy memorabilia on online sites probably don’t even know the stories behind what these veterans did or about the people who lost their lives.
“I think if people are making poppy-themed memorabilia and selling them on places like eBay and Amazon, they should at least donate some of the proceeds to charity and put details about that in the description.”
The Intellectual Property Office confirmed to The i Paper that the RBL has registered trade marks for variations of the petal poppy and can choose to take legal action against anyone they believe to be infringing these trade marks.
eBay stated that the sale of counterfeit items is strictly prohibited and it uses block filter algorithms to prevent their sale. If they find a counterfeit product, they say they swiftly remove it and take action against the seller.
Amazon highlighted that it supports and is actively engaged with the RBL and its charity work and said customers can find official products on Amazon’s RBL store.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon strictly prohibits IP infringing products in our store.”
They added that Amazon had removed the products The i Paper flagged to it as part of our investigation.
The RBL said it regularly monitors and reports items that infringe on its trademarks and has an agreement with the major platforms to remove those items swiftly from their marketplace.
The charity added that The Poppy Shop is its official online store selling branded merchandise, including poppy pins and brooches, clothing and wristbands, with all profits funding its vital work supporting the Armed Forces community, past and present and their families.
People can also buy from the official RBL store on Amazon, where 100 per cent of profits go to the RBL.
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