Question: How much is the average donation for a poppy?

Russell Thompson: It is difficult to say, however reports coming to us from poppy sellers indicate that 50 pence pieces and £1 coins are very much in evidence.

Question: How much do you hope to raise with this year's appeal?

Russell Thompson: Last year we raised just over £21 million and our target is £22 million this year.

At the moment it's looking quite good but we don't announce the total until May next year at the Legion's National Conference.

But it is looking good so far. The weather is dry and that's important. It means that people are more likely to stay out collecting in the streets so fingers crossed we'll reach the £22 million target.

Question: How much comes from poppy donations?

Russell Thompson: I would say about 80 percent of the money comes from donations for poppies, wreathes and the little wooden remembrance crosses.

The balance is raised from local events such coffee mornings or sponsored walks - that sort of thing. Some people also leave legacies to the Poppy Appeal but the majority of the income is achieved by donations in exchange for poppies.

Question: What does the money go towards?

Russell Thompson: We have ten homes: three welfare break centres and seven care homes. Income from the Appeal goes towards maintaining these homes but we also carry out welfare work at community level, helping individuals with immediate needs.

We spend £46 million each year and the Poppy Appeal raises just below half that amount.

Question: Do you get any funds from the government?

Russell Thompson: No we don't get any government funding. If people are in homes and they need to get funding, local authorities will pay up to a certain amount and then we will make up the balance.

But we as an organisation don't get any direct government funding. However, we do take advantage of Gift Aid - where we can claim back 28 pence in the pound from the Treasury for each £1 donated.

If anyone gives over £5 they are encouraged to sign a Gift Aid declaration.

Question: Has your strategy altered over time in order to maximise income?

Russell Thompson: In 1998 and we invited the Spice Girls to launch the Appeal. Until then income from the Appeal had been sitting at about £15 million and so we took a calculated risk by targeting the younger generation.

The Spice Girls were very big at that time and income went up by £1.3 million. Because of this success we decided that in subsequent years we would invite groups like Westlife and SClub 7, Hear'Say and that's worked very well.

Question: In terms of reaching out to younger people, do you talk to schools and teachers as well?

Russell Thompson: Yes. We mail our schools pack to about 40,000 schools each year. This is geared to the national curriculum, taking into account both world wars, conflicts since then and the history of The Royal British Legion.

This is used extensively and teachers can fill in a tick box requesting a CD Rom and a visit from a local speaker.

This works extremely well and there's no doubt that young people are interested in the history of the Legion and supporting the Poppy Appeal.

Question: How do you go about attracting volunteers to sell poppies?

Russell Thompson: Our biggest challenge is to attract more volunteers.

Income from the Appeal last year remained static - it didn't go up by the amount we had hoped. So we discussed the outcome with our field officers.

As a result we launched the Poppy People campaign which has been very successful. To date, we have recruited 3,000 new collectors.

We'll repeat the campaign next year but obviously the people who have been supporting the Legion since the end of the last war are finding it more difficult to continue collecting on the streets and it's a constant challenge is finding new people.

Question: Do you think poppies are sufficiently available?

Russell Thompson: As part of our new strategy we are aiming to get poppies into more shops, libraries and other public places.

Our business boxes are stand alone and can be placed on counters etc.

In addition we encourage house-to-house collecting, street collecting, poppies in schools, and churches.

Question: Next year is the 60th anniversary for D-Day and the following year is the 60th anniversary for VE and VJ Day. What will the Legion be doing to mark these events?

Russell Thompson: Most of the activity for D-Day will take part in Normandy - where the landings were. In collaboration with a company which offers holidays to our membership, we have chartered a cruise ship which will take a number of veterans and their friends to the northern coast of France in June next year.

We did this 10 years ago for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. Dame Vera Lynn was our guest of honour and the BBC filmed our act of remembrance which took place on board ship.

In addition we are planning to mail our supporters with a special D-Day fundraising pack. Hopefully this will attract additional income.

We also have a committee looking at a nationwide programme to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of VE and VJ Day.

We understand from the MoD that there will be an act of remembrance around Buckingham Palace for about 10,000 veterans. Prior to this there will be a lunch in West London at which HM The Queen will be present. We will be helping organise veterans for both these occasions.