JCB workforce members across eleven UK manufacturing facilities have raised more than 拢11,400 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal through the sale of commemorative backhoe loader pin badges, with the equipment manufacturer boosting the final total to 拢12,500.
Designed by retired Staffordshire firefighter Kelvin Chell to mark the manufacturer's 80th anniversary year, the bespoke badges feature a JCB backhoe loader motif. Production costs were co-funded by JCB alongside Fenton-based supplier Rayne Engineering. Employees purchased the initial run of 2,400 badges within days of release, while an additional 850 units were sold to retail and online buyers across the UK and internationally. The initiative has pushed Chell's cumulative fundraising total for the Armed Forces charity past 拢150,000 over a six-year period.
Former Army Brigadier Adam Fraser-Hitchen, Head of Defence at JCB, formally presented the funds at the manufacturer's World Headquarters in Rocester. According to the company, the fundraiser continues a long-standing corporate partnership with the Royal British Legion, which previously included the charity auction of a custom poppy-themed machine to mark the Armistice centenary.