THE Royal British Legion hopes every town in Wiltshire will come to a standstill as people show their respects at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

It has once again become the practice for many people to stop whatever they are doing to pay homage to those who died in the two world wars and the many other conflagrations where British service men and women have died in action.

In some towns bus drivers and cabbies pull in at the roadside and switch off their engines for the 11am silence on November 11.

Bill Copeland, the Wiltshire poppy collection co-ordinator and county Royal British Legion secretary, said although the official Poppy Day will be on November 12, he would like to see as many people as possible hold a silence for two minutes at 11am on Saturday. The day marks the 82nd anniversary of when the armistice was signed at the end of the First World War.

Mr Copeland said: "The Royal British Legion is delighted that this has become the custom once again. We would urge as many people as possible to stop whatever they are doing at 11am on November 11 and remember in silence all of those who gave their lives."

Mr Copeland said this year's poppy collection will have a special significance because it marks the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 55th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The mammoth task of mobilising an army of poppy collectors is the responsibility of Mr Copeland. From his office in Marlborough he makes sure the 140 local organisers find a team of collectors.

Only one area of the county, Wanborough, near Swindon, remains without an organiser. The Royal British Legion's county field officer Peter Douglas has stepped in to organise the Wanborough collectors in the meantime.

Local organisers have the job of ordering sufficient collecting tins and the thousands of poppies which will start to appear on people's lapels as the annual Remembrance Day approaches.

Mr Copeland said: "We make sure there are more than sufficient poppies to ensure that everyone who wants one will have one."

This year the national chairman of RBL fundraising, Noel Rogers, has put out an appeal for people to be extra generous so that the result will, for the first time, top of the £20 million mark.

Mr Rogers said the 1999 appeal brought in the record breaking amount of £18.77 million and added: "Two and a half years ago I set the target for the Millennium Appeal at £20 million.

"I would agree that at the time this appeared to be an exceptionally high total, however last year's result has provided an excellent spring-board and now makes the £20 million for the Millennium very possible."

Mr Copeland said Wiltshire aimed to continue its trend of collecting more than the previous year with last year's county total of £281,376 to beat. He was sure that supporters in the Kennet area would again strive to be the most generous in the county.

The RBL maintains seven care homes for ex-servicemen and woman or their dependents and three convalescence centres, the nearest at Weston-super-Mare.

Mr Copeland said: "They need for money to help provide these services is greater now than ever before."

It had to be remembered, said Mr Copeland, that the men and women who took part in the Second World War are now in their 70s or 80s and need increasing help from the Royal British Legion.

Anyone living in Wanborough who would like to volunteer to organise future poppy collections should call Mr Copeland at (01672) 516466.