Singer Samantha Barks wore a Manx poppy pin on Saturday as she performed during the Royal British Legion’s ‘Festival of Remembrance’.

Three members of Colby's Royal British Legion branch were at the Royal Albert Hall for the event, with standard bearer Jim Gale taking part in the evening’s proceedings.

Branch chairman Jan Rae and member Sandra West were also in the audience, and seized the opportunity to provide Samantha with a special edition Manx poppy.

Growing up in Laxey, Barks rose to fame for her portrayal of Éponine in the 2012 film ‘Les Miserables’, while she has also portrayed Elsa in the West End stage adaptation of the popular film ‘Frozen’ since 2021.

She left the show on maternity leave in early 2023, giving birth to her first child Rafael in October last year before returning to the West End in February this year.

Speaking about their experience at the Royal Albert Hall, Jan said: ‘Because Jim was there, we decided to attend the event and got tickets for both the afternoon and evening performances.

‘On arrival, we purchased a programme and read that Samantha Barks was one of the performers singing there.

‘For the afternoon show, we had seats on the front row of the stalls. Jim had told us where he would be appearing and we proudly watched him carry the Isle of Man’s “county standard”, first to come out during the “entry of the standards”.

‘The whole programme was very moving, with tributes to individuals and veterans sharing their memories.

‘During the interval between the afternoon and the evening performances, we had a coffee and chatted to several other people attending both of the performances. We then walked down the corridor around the hall and passed a stage door just as a girl was coming out.

‘We asked if she had contact with any of the performers and went on to explain that, like Samantha Barks, we were from the Isle of Man.

‘We asked if it would it be possible for her to pass an Isle of Man poppy pin on to Samantha and explain it was a gift from Jan and Sandra from the Colby Branch, and she noted all of this on her phone.’

The pair were sat above the Royal Box during the evening performance, and were pleasantly surprised to see that Sam was wearing the poppy they had given to her.

Jan added: ‘When Samantha appeared for the second time, imagine our surprise and delight when we saw she was wearing the poppy pin, as opposed to the brooch she wore for the afternoon.

‘She is obviously a proud Manxie – it was amazing and what a fantastic memory Sandra and I have!

‘There was yet to be some icing on the cake. Whilst leaving our hotel to come home, police bikers stopped traffic at the crossing near Gloucester Road tube station and then, being driven in a black Range Rover, the King sped past!’