First World War Centenary: One million more poppies sold than last year

Royal British Legion is on target to see 45 million poppies

The British Legion is expected to sell more than 45 million poppies this year (Rex)

On the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, the Royal British Legion is expected to sell one million more poppies than in 2013.

The charity is on target to sell more than 45 million poppies and is hopeful of making its fundraising goal of £40million.

Head of remembrance for the British Legion, Stephen Clarke, said: “This year it feels like there are more poppies out in the streets and a lot of different styles of poppy, because remembrance is very personal.

“In the year of the centenary of the start of the First World War, it is going to be very poignant at 11 o'clock when we stop to reflect on the losses for the British armed forces.”

Earlier today, thousands stopped and remembered for the two-minute silence observed across the country. In London wreaths of poppies were laid at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in a remembrance service organised by the Western Front Association.

Prime Minister David Cameron was among the vast crowds surrounding the Cenotaph to mark the moment an armistice agreement between the Allied forces and Germany came into effect in 1918, ending the First World War.

Finally, the last of 888,246 poppies has been planted by army cadet Harry Hayes, 13, in the Tower of London’s moat.

The final ceramic poppy completes the installation that appears to have captured the imagination of the country, with an estimated five million flocking to visit the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

Additional reporting by PA