His great uncle was killed in the Boer War, his grandfather was wounded in the Battle of the Somme during the First World War and his dad fought in North Africa and Italy in the last war.

So that makes Andrew, who himself flew RAF fighter planes throughout the Cold War, the perfect person to organise the selling of poppies in Uppingham ahead of Remembrance Sunday this weekend.

He has been amazed at the generosity of townsfolk when it comes to the annual Royal British Legion appeal, which helps current and former service people and their dependents. "Last year we raised about £4,600, which was extremely good for a place this size," said Andrew (63), who lives with wife Pat in Newtown Road.

"The year before that we just missed £4,000 but we did have two boxes stolen unfortunately. By and large people don't turn us away when we do house-to-house collections. Occasionally some people ask us what the poppy is for. "I try and say to people that the British Legion is a special charity and this is a special time of the year."

It has been a busy last few weeks for Andrew in the build-up to remembrance weekend. He stores 6,000 poppies in boxes at his home. Some of them are then sold by 40 house-to-house collectors around the town. Then there are dozens of boxes in businesses, shops and schools. Street collections will be made in the town tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday.

"Our oldest house-to-house collector is 92 and we have a lady who started collecting over 50 years ago and she is still going. But they don't like to make a fuss. There are some fantastic people doing it," said Andrew.

He believes the Poppy Appeal is as well supported now as it has ever been, particularly by young people.

Andrew said: "The schools are very good. They make it part of the curriculum and buying a poppy is part of it. "Uppingham School take 16 boxes and they raise over £1,000 each year."

Andrew's proud family history in the military has undoubtedly inspired him in his efforts with the Poppy Appeal.

His great uncle, Geoffrey Norman Shea, was killed at the age of 21 in 1902 while fighting in the Boer War. He was a distinguished soldier who won the prestigious sword of honour at Sandhurst.

Andrew's grandfather, Percy Shea, was wounded in the infamous Battle of the Somme in 1916, when more than a million men lost their lives. He recovered his health and ironically was fit to fight again on Armistice Day when the war ended.

Then there was Andrew's father, Maxse, who served overseas in the Second World War from 1940 to 1945. He helped with the liberation of the Belsen concentration camp at the end of the conflict. Maxse, who died in 1973, was a doctor in Uppingham in the years either side of the last war.

Andrew said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had brought the work of the armed forces more into the public eye but he feels the understanding of what they do is not as keenly felt by people as it used to be.

"With people my age, everybody's parents served in World War Two so people knew more about it," he said.

Andrew was born in Uppingham and attended the town's public school. He joined the air force at 18 and went on to serve at a variety of bases including Cyprus, Germany and Scotland. Andrew flew Lightning, Jaguar and Hawk jets at a time when a nucelar war was threatened between Russia and the West.

"In Cyprus we used to intercept Russian aircraft," recalled Andrew. "In Germany we weren't allowed to fly that close to the border but we did monitor our targets. We didn't have that feeling that other people had at the time that there was going to be a nuclear war. We were very confident it wouldn't happen because that was what we were there to prevent. It was slightly unreal, though."

The aircraft Andrew flew bore little resemblance to high-tech modern fighters, such as the Harriers from RAF Cottesmore which regularly fly over Rutland.

Andrew said: "The computer on the Jaguars I flew was the size of a shoebox and it had just 8k of memory, about the size of your wrist watch.

"Technology is changing breathtakingly fast for today's pilots. The reliability of the aircraft is much better these days, and the agility. We did crash planes in those days but I never threw one away, as they say.

"I wouldn't have changed a thing about my career. I wanted to fly airplanes from when I was a small boy and I suppose I never grew out of it. It was great fun flying these fighters, particularly as no-one ever shot at me."

Andrew retired 12 years ago and shortly afterwards he got involved with the annual Poppy Appeal. Partly, he says, because he had served in the RAF and partly because of the persuasive powers of a former Uppinghan School tutor who used to organise the effort in the town.

Andrew, who is chairman of the Rutland air cadets squadron, will be attending the remembrance service in Oakham on Sunday.

This is a poignant year, being the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One and the founding of the RAF, plus it is the centenary of the Territorial Army.

The selling of poppies goes back to those terrible days of the Great War, when so many young men were killed and the landscape of northern France and Belgium was devastated by violent trench warfare. Despite the carnage the poppy continued to flower, bringing colour to an otherwise desolate landscape.

Andrew added: "My mum was seven when the Battle of the Somme took place in World War One. She remembers seeing the national newspapers at the time and the pages and pages of names of those who had lost their lives in the battle.

"The worst part of the remembrance service in Oakham is when they read out the names of the local soldiers killed in that war. There are four names from one family. That must have been quite terrible."