THERE are few more deserving of medals than Kidlington’s poppy sellers.

Five of them have braved the wind, rain and snow for more than 35 years each.

Their combined efforts amount to nearly 200 years of plodding the streets.

Another 22 sellers have put in at least 10 years service.

We can only imagine how many miles they must have clocked up. And we can only guess the physical toll of their efforts, given some of them are in their 70s.

Not that age will stop them.

People like Stan and Ilma White have vowed to carry on for as long as their legs will carry them.

They come from a generation where selflessness was the norm, rather than an exception.

The danger is that the children of today will not have the grit or sense of duty to provide such a service in the future.

If the poppy sellers teach us anything, it is the importance of drumming into this generation the need to remember the young men and women who fought and died for us all. And to tell them why we need people like the Whites so we can go on remembering.