Cadets from Surrey were rewarded at a ceremony on Thursday, March 4, after they raised £84,942 in the Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet Poppy Competition.

The competition, which was introduced in 2001 to encourage young people to fundraise for the Royal British Legion, saw more than 800 cadets from 50 units across the county selling poppies last November.

Overall, cadets from Surrey raised 39 per cent more than the previous year and came second in the country, after Manchester.

The Merrow Army Cadets received the Duke of Connaught’s Cadet Cup at the ceremony at Charterhouse School in Godalming, for raising the most money.

Canon Peter Bruinvels, from the Royal British Legion in Surrey, said: “Thank you to all the cadets who willingly gave their time to take part in the competition to ultimately help all those servicemen and ex-Servicemen in need.

“I am aware of how much the cadets enjoyed themselves and I look forward to even greater increases in number this November.”