SINCE the 2019 Poppy Appeal launched on October 24, an army of Royal British Legion volunteers have been busy collecting donations across the county.

Money raised from donations and poppy sales goes towards providing support to serving and ex-serving members of the British Armed Forces and their families.

But how many veterans – and potential beneficiaries of the appeal – are there in the area?

The Government does not keep a comprehensive record of armed-forces veterans so it is difficult to arrive at an exact estimate. However, the Ministry of Defence does publish statistics which give an insight into the veteran population.

According to the 2011 census, Bournemouth is home to an estimated 2,150 working-age veterans – those aged between 16 and 64.

Poole has around 2,635 working-age veterans, and Christchurch 554. Across the conurbation this accounts for around two to three per cent of the overall population, above the England and Wales average.

Dorset is home to an estimated 8,712 working-age veterans, or four per cent of the total, well above the national average and one of the highest proportions in England and Wales.

The Office for National Statistics is planning to collect more comprehensive information about veterans in the 2021 census.

This is to help the Government plan support for veterans and their families, in areas such as health, housing and employment.

A total of 1,128 people in Bournemouth have received some kind of armed forces pension or compensation for injuries caused by service in the armed forces, according to MoD statistics covering to March.

Of these, 1,030 are veterans, with the remainder made up of family members or personnel who are still in active service.

For Poole, 1,695 people receive these benefits, of which 1,524 are veterans, the data shows.

In Christchurch, 419 people received armed forces pensions or compensation , with 384 veterans among them. And in Dorset, 7,291 people got the pension or compensation, of which, 6,835 were veterans.

Around one in eight working-age veterans in England and Wales say their day-to-day activities are limited because of a disability, according to the 2011 census.

In Bournemouth, 155 veterans (seven per cent) said their activities were limited a lot and 180 (nine per cent) said they were limited a little. Overall, 130 veterans aged under 65 (six per cent) said they could not work because of a disability.

In Poole, 150 veterans (six per cent) said a lot, 215 (eight per cent) a little and overall 95 aged under 65 (four per cent) said they could not work.

In Christchurch, 35 veterans (six per cent) said a lot, 55 (10 per cent) a little and overall 30 veterans aged under 65 (five per cent) said they could not work.

In Dorset, 490 veterans (six per cent) said a lot, 755 (nine per cent) a little and overall, 310 veterans aged under 65 (four per cent) said they could not work.

A spokeswoman for the Royal British Legion said life in the armed forces brought “unique challenges” both during and after service.

She said: “We offer support in a number of ways including providing crisis grants, researching the changing impact of blast injuries on the body, lobbying the government on key issues, specialist dementia care, sport and art-based recovery programmes, and advising on benefits and money problems.”

“We are here 365 days for any member of the Armed Forces community that may need our help and support.”