Today’s speaker Christine Bradford, area fundraiser, spoke of the work of the Royal British Legion. Once again there was a very disappointing number of U3A members who attended the talk, but those who did all agreed that the talk was not only informative but gave a real insight into the work of the organisation. 

The work of the British Legion commenced in 1921, due to a lack of understanding of what the troops in World War One went through. This gave the opportunity for troops to talk with those who had undergone similar experiences and developed the link with comradeship .This, along with direct support, representation and remembrance are the four cornerstones of todays  organisation.

Direct support for current and ex service personnel , along with their families, is the heart of todays British Legion (BL). The money for this support is raised by the annual Poppy Appeal, with approximately £46 million pounds being raised in this way, yet the BL spend over £100,000,000 each year to support the aims of the organisation.

Representation: The BL gives the armed forces a voice. One of its key aims is to advance the cause of armed forces personnel in matters such as lobbying MP’s to ensure pensions are representative in todays  economy. They also work to ensure the staff are not disadvantaged when they return from the field of combat injured or disabled, or due to frequent relocation, both in the UK and abroad.

Remembrance: The BL are custodians of remembrance. They run major national events such as Remembrance Sunday, Festival of Remembrance, Silence in the Square and their newest acquisition  the National Memorial Arboretum.

Welfare: Also at the heart of BL. The organisation provides adventure and family breaks for children who have lost a parent through conflict. They provide seaside holidays for families of injured service personnel to try to creat a sense of normality, as well as care home and dedicated dementia units for more elderly service personnel .

The BL prides itself on giving help long after the battle, and has a buddy system in place to provide visits to ex military in hospital or in their own homes, and also has a responsive service which can provide AIDS and adaptations, or necessary repairs in ex-troops homes.

Christine showed very moving pictures of troops who had been injured in more recent conflicts such as Afghanistan and Iraq, with some life footage from troops mobile phones. We saw the journey of one Colour Sergant from a machine gun placement on the battlefield, where he was critically injured, to the field hospital at Camp Bastion during the “Golden Hour”; the time in which, if medical assistance is given, vastly increases the survival rate for injured troops. Transfer from the front was to Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Birmingham  where the real work of repair and rehabilitation was undertaken. Following a period of recuperation troops are then moved to the Battle Back Centre in Lilleshall to commence intensive rehabilitation and re-enablement, which is some cases can take months or years.

Fundraising events such as sponsorship from runners in the London marathon, Pedal to Paris, Challenge events and legacies from wills, provides the money to support this rehabilitation process, Amputee troops are only provided with a basic false limb by the NHS, with the BL providing high tech limbs such as running blades, which cost £40-60,000 each in order to allow different activities to be undertaken. This help is provided for life.

In summary the work of the British Legion is to keep alive what sacrifice means in the minds of the young. It promotes the giving of respect, thanks and remembrance for the sacrifices given by troops irrespective of the conflict, and whatever the age of the service men and women , and is working in partnership with the other many other military charities throughout the country .Their new motto “live on” sums up the work the organisation achieves.

We are indebted to Christine Bradford for her illuminating presentation, and were pleased to give her a donation for the Royal British Legion.