Knitted beanies for Aussie troops

Receiving a hand-knitted scarf provides more than just warmth for Australian soldiers serving in the Middle East winter - it represents appreciation and support from home.

Brigadier David Thompson said the delivery of more than 2000 scarves and beanies, knitted by the RSL's famed Poppy ladies, would buoy the spirits of the diggers in their months away from home.

"It gets very lonely overseas for a long period of time, and to feel valued and to get that `thank you' and that wider acknowledgement from home is an unbelievable feeling," he told reporters in Perth on Friday.

"The mere warmth of them is pretty exciting to most diggers that are sitting out there, especially in the hillsides of Lebanon in mid-winter."

Nine-year-old William Cutler also wrote a card for the troops, which read: "We all want to thank you for helping keep us safe, we also want you to return home safely. We salute you."