AN open top decorated classic 1940s wartime Poppy Bus will today visit 11 towns in Cumbria to launch the Royal British Legion's annual Poppy Appeal.

The bus will be at the Evening Mail's office in Abbey Road between 9am and 9.30am before travelling to Ulverston, Kendal, Sedburgh, Appleby and Penrith. A second bus will visit locations in North and West Cumbria.

This year's appeal is calling on members of the public to recognise younger veterans and serving soldiers.

The charity says people commonly associate Remembrance and the poppy with older, World War Two veterans.

The fundraising target for the Poppy Appeal 2016 is a record £43m, with more than 45 million poppies being distributed by 150,000 dedicated collectors across the country.

The "rethink Remembrance" campaign will launch with a video installation in London, featuring four videos of young veterans' experiences.

It comes as some charities have said younger veterans are being forgotten. The Royal British Legion said the aim of the campaign was to challenge common perceptions.

Its survey of 1,000 adults found most only associate the poppy, Remembrance and the charity's work with the two World Wars and elderly veterans.

Only just over a third of those surveyed identified Remembrance with thinking about those who are currently serving.

In the charity's videos, World War Two veterans aged between 88 and 97 tell a story of conflict or injury. But it is later revealed in the videos that the stories are not their own, and actually belong to the younger veterans or service personnel.

The younger people featured in the videos are: Anna Pollock, 34, from Catterick, North Yorkshire Ben Poku, 34, from London Sam Jack, 29, from Stansted, Essex Stewart Harris, 32, from Rhyl.

THE POPPY APPEAL: 10 FACTS

£106,000 raised by the first Poppy Appeal in 1921;

£43m fundraising target for the Poppy Appeal in 2016;

45 million poppies will be distributed during the 2016 Poppy Appeal;

780,000 requests for help answered by the charity since the 2015 Poppy Appeal;

2,500 Royal British Legion branches across the UK and overseas;

6.2 million people in the UK eligible for the charity's help;

16 pop-in centres run across the country in cities including Manchester, London, Plymouth, Newcastle and Birmingham;

Six care homes operated by the charity providing nursing care for 400 ex-servicemen, women and their dependents;

16 strong team of benefits, money and debt advisers across the country;

Four Poppy Break centres providing free accommodation, activities and entertainment for families of serving and ex-service personnel