Ask your average youngster what they think about the annual Poppy Appeal and they would probably say something about pensioners rattling collection tins outside supermarkets.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

This year's appeal, which is launched today, is more relevant to us now than it ever has been.

Of course, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the fallen in both word wars.

But almost everyone is touched by what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, even if we disagree over whether we should be there in the first place.

We all have friends, relatives, school mates, colleagues and associates who have been involved in modern day conflicts.

Some never return home, others need round-the-clock care and attention.

Here in Oxfordshire, what happens in modern day theatres is brought home in stark fashion.

We have reported on the duties of 7 Rifles, Territorial Army soldiers based in Oxford, and the roles played by servicemen based at Dalton Barracks in Abingdon, Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot and 23 Pioneer Regiment at St David's Barracks, near Bicester.

Remember 32-year-old RAF Benson-based helicopter pilot Michelle Goodman who flew her three-strong crew into the middle of war-torn Basra city to rescue a seriously-injured soldier who was only minutes away from death?

She became the first woman to receive the Royal Air Force's highest award, the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Until recently, soldiers who had been killed in action were flown into RAF Brize Norton to be repatriated. All the dead are taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital for post mortem.

We are much closer to the action than we think here in Oxfordshire.

And that is why we would urge everyone to dig deep, put their hands in their pockets to help pay for the continuing care and support servicemen and women, veteran or otherwise, need.

Because we should never forget.