GARDENING personality and three-time war veteran Peter Cundall yesterday held the RAF blanket of an old friend.

Adorned with knitted poppies, re-purposed from the National Trust’s Tasmanian Heritage Festival, the blanket of William Alan Alderson Dutton has become a symbol of remembrance.

The National Trust is seeking to have the blanket displayed at Parliament House for Remembrance Day.

Mr Cundall spoke with the daughter of William Dutton, National Trust events and special promotions manager Hilary Keeley, at Youngtown’s Franklin House on Wednesday.

He said his push to help the trust in its endeavours stemmed from a passion to support veterans of war, as well as those who didn’t make it home.

‘‘When I was in Korea, I was in the Third Battalion – trench warfare,’’ he said. ‘‘I lost all of my friends, every one; I was the only one to come back. It was an absolute slaughter ... I left a hillside full of rotting corpses.

‘‘That’s just one of the reasons why I’m so interested in this. Remembrance Day, as far as I’m concerned, is not just one day, it’s every day.’’

Ms Keeley said her father’s blanket was now part of the National Trust’s special collection, and its poppies were contributed by St Finn Barr’s, Norwood and Scotch Oakburn primary schools.

‘‘St Finn Barr’s had a poppy at Gallipoli, and a couple of people who attended services there wrote to the school acknowledging the wonderful contribution that a young person had made,’’ she said.