22/09/2008
- Free travel provided by megabus.com to London and Edinburgh services
- Dependants of ex-Servicemen and women also given complimentary seats
Stagecoach is to provide free travel for veterans living in Scotland who are attending the 2008 Remembrance Day ceremonies in London and Edinburgh.
Free travel is being provided on megabus.com services for the former Servicemen and women and their dependants to attend the events on 9 November.
Stagecoach is working in partnership with the charity Poppyscotland, which supports veterans and their families in need, to organise the complimentary travel.
Veterans wishing to access the service should call 0131 550 1557 in the first instance. They will be required to provide their Service details and information on the megabus.com service they wish to use. Timetable information is available at www.megabus.com/uk or by calling 0900 160 0900.
Brian Souter, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said: "Our Servicemen and women have given so much for their country over many decades and conflicts. It is only right that we do what we can to help them remember their comrades."
Poppyscotland's Chief Executive, Jim Panton, added: "This service, generously provided by Stagecoach, will enable veterans to pay their respects to their fallen comrades at two of the UK's main remembrance services. This is an opportunity that, for some, would never have been possible."
More than 8,000 veterans are expected to attend the main Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, to commemorate those who gave their lives for their country.
The Queen, religious leaders, politicians, representatives of state and the armed and auxiliary forces, will gather to pay their respects to British and Commonwealth servicemen and women who died in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Remembrance Sunday will include a march past by veterans in a poignant gesture of respect for their fallen comrades.
Scotland's national remembrance ceremony will be held at the Stone of Remembrance, near Edinburgh Castle, where wreaths will be laid as a tribute to fallen comrades.
The Remembrance Day services also mark the end of the annual Scottish Poppy Appeal campaign, which raises money to support veterans and their families. The 2007 Appeal raised a record £1.76 million.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Stagecoach Group
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
T: 01738 442111 / 07764 774680;
E: steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com
Poppyscotland
Leigh Howieson
PR Manager
T: 0131 550 1580 / 07766 475886
E: l.howieson@poppyscotland.org.uk
Notes to Editors
megabus.com is the UK's market-leading inter-city coach service. Offering high quality travel with fares from just £1, megabus.com carries around 2 million passengers a year on a network of services covering around 40 locations nationwide in the UK. Full details of routes, timetables and fares are available online at www.megabus.com.
Poppyscotland supports veterans and their families in Scotland, in need. Money raised through the annual Scottish Poppy Appeal and year-round fundraising activities is spent in the following ways:
- Providing direct financial assistance to individuals
- Funding advice services, including war pensions claims and appeals
- Supporting organisations that deliver specialist services to veterans
- Supporting the employment of veterans with disabilities
For more information visit www.poppyscotland.org.uk
Note: Calls to the reservation line cost 60p per minute from landlines. Calls from mobile phones may vary.
