LegionLive

This year the Legion has seventy-five runners taking part in the Virgin London Marathon and between them they are expected to raise an amazing £120,000!

I wanted to highlight just some of the supporters that are taking part on the 17th April, please go to The Royal British Legion’s website to find links to their donation pages to help them reach their targets!

Here is a link to a video by Lauren Levy too so you can see how much hard work is involved in training: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiwT5N72ZN0

Lauren Levy
Lauren is running the marathon in memory of Captain Andrew Griffiths who was killed in Afghanistan in September 2010.
Andy was serving with the 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster Regiment, his father’s Regiment, was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps and was immensely proud to be serving alongside him. Tragically though, on his second tour of Afghanistan, Andy was wounded whilst leading his platoon and lost his fight for life in September 2010.

Louise Cottington
Louise is the proud daughter of an ex-soldier who served in the army for 27 years, and has close friends who have served or are currently serving in conflicts around the world.

Amanda Shorey
Amanda is a keen runner but the London Marathon will be her biggest challenge by far! She is running to show her respect for those who are currently serving or have served in the British Armed Forces.

Major Stuart Allen AGC ETS
Major Stu is currently serving in Afghanistan and is due back from service on 9 April. Stu will again be running dressed as a poppy and will carry a donation bucket for the full 26 miles, collecting donations along the route.

Joe Moore
Joe is the fourth generation of the Moore family to support The Royal British Legion. His great grandfather was the county standard bearer and was active just after WW2 to his death in the early 50’s.  His grandfather served in Korea and his grandmother was a prolific supporter of the local branch at Northiam in East Sussex for many years.

Sarah Phillips
Sarah Phillips, from York, is running her first ever marathon in memory of her brave cousin, Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, who was killed in a double IED explosion in the Sangin province of Afghanistan in August 2009. Matt was only 23 years old, and the loss was a devastation to his family.

To view the map click here.

As I’m sure you’ve all realised, we’ll be talking about our 90th anniversary a lot this year as it is such a great achievement and well worth celebrating by as many people across the country as possible.

To make it easier for you to locate events in your local area, we’ve put together a Google Map which is packed full of events conveniently marked with a poppy! It will be added to throughout the year, so it’s worth checking back if you can’t find anything in your area yet. As well as containing 90th Anniversary events, the calendar shows the national events associated with the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance.

We’ve also got an online events calendar, so make sure you pop over there too, and if you are holding an event feel free to email over the details to poppy@legionlive.org.uk and we will host it on our LegionLive calendar.

Let’s make it a year to remember!

On Thursday, the Ride to the Wall organisers will present £50,000 cheque to the National Memorial Arboretum, following last year’s pilgrimage of thousands of motorcyclists to the Armed Forces Memorial.

Ride to the Wall is the only Remembrance event of its kind in the country that gives motorcyclists the opportunity to show their support for the Armed Forces.  The ride raises considerable funds for the Arboretum, which is part of The Royal British Legion family of charities. The cheque will be received on behalf of the Arboretum by HRH The Duke of Kent.

HRH The Duke of Kent has a long association with the National Memorial Arboretum and has visited several times since it opened to the public in 2001.  The Duke retired from the British Army at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1976 and he currently holds the honorary title of Air Chief Marshal.  He is Colonel or Colonel-in-Chief of several regiments, including the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and 1st Battalion, The Rifles.

If you’re in the area and are visiting the National Memorial Arboretum on Thursday, why not stop by for the presentation at 13:45.

If you’re looking for something to do this Mothering Sunday (3rd April), why not pop over to the National Memorial Arboretum?

There are lots of different events taking place, including the launch of the new range of Spring merchandise from the traders at St Dunstan’s Market Square, and a special two course lunch.

The Market Square includes a coffee and cake stand, a fresh-cut flower and plant shop, a collection of Service memorabilia and the Arboretum’s own charity shop, ‘Knick Knacks’, run exclusively by volunteers.

Helen Overton, visitor services manager at the Arboretum, thinks that at Dunstan’s Market there’s sure to be something for everyone, ‘from delicious refreshments and beautiful flowers to a wonderful range of Service memorabilia and general bric-a-brac. The launch event marks the start of the Spring season for the Arboretum’s concessionaires, all of whom add their own personality and flavour to Arboretum.’

Also for Mothering Sunday, reservations can be made for a special two course lunch (with waitress service), at just £12.00 per adult and £6.00 per child.  And for those wishing to go the extra mile, there’s the option to have a hand tied bouquet or floral table display delivered to the table, available at between £10.00 and £26.00.  You can also finish off the day (and walk off your pudding!) by joining a themed guided walk covering the subject ‘Women at War.’

For more information or to make a reservation, just call: 01283 792333.

Now that Spring has finally arrived and the sun is shining, I’m sure some of you are starting to think of summer so I wanted to let you all know of an exciting 90th anniversary official event taking place in June.

The Inter Services Twenty20Trophy cricket competition at Lord’s on Tuesday 28th June will help raise money for The Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes.

You can buy your tickets now from www.lords.org/ist20 or by calling 020 7432 1000.

See you there!

Hi all, it’s that time again: the March/April issue of The Legion Magazine is available online!

It’s packed full with news, features and a ‘Forces Faves’ section which includes RBL updates, profiles, letters and information on the welfare of our Service men and women.

The issue leads with Jump4Heroes who we featured on the blog yesterday, and also includes the Cornwall Branch’s engagement with a younger generation and information about the Poppy Party weekend in June.

Enjoy reading, and let me know what you think!

With an Afghanistan deployment on the horizon for some of the Jump4Heroes team members, Team Leader Major Alastair Macartney, took the opportunity for a long weekend ‘jumping’ in the Swiss mountains.

Before he heads out for 6 months in Helmand province, Major Al climbed, hiked and trekked his way through the snowy Swiss mountain ranges.  Situated between World famous ski resorts of Wengen and Murren and opposite the Jungfrau and the Eiger, he was seeking BASE jumping exit points at almost 2,000ft above ground level.

Accessing the exit points wasn’t always easy.  On one attempt he broke one of his crampons and, only 150m further on, the other one also broke.  Fortunately he didn’t have too much further to go.  On another approach route he slid on the snow and ice formations when just a few metres from the edge of the mountain and a sheer drop of almost 1,500ft.  At the last second he was able to grasp a tree saving himself!

Thankfully, all ended well and, flying the Poppy logo, he managed 13 wingsuit BASE jumps most of which were wingsuit proximity flights; flying just inches from the cliff face at speeds of over 130mph.

Major Al deploys to Afghanistan in May and team mate Sgt Deane ‘Smudge’ Smith deploys at the very start of April.

All of us here at LegionLive wish them, and all of those deployed overseas, the very best of luck and we’ll do our best to keep you posted whilst they are in Afghanistan.

In 2011, The Royal British Legion will be celebrating its 90th anniversary – a milestone to be incredibly proud of.

With this in mind, I thought I would tell you about the history of the Legion and how it came to be the UK’s leading charity for those who have or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces.

The Royal British Legion was formed on 15 May 1921 bringing together four National Organisations of ex-Service men that had established themselves after the Great War of 1914-1918.

The main purpose of the Legion was straightforward: to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces in the Great War, whether through their own service or through that of a husband, father or son.

As a result of the war, Britain’s economy plummeted and in 1921 there were 2 million unemployed. Over six million men had served in the war - 725,000 never returned. Of those who came back, 1.75 million had suffered some kind of disability and half of these were permanently disabled. To this figure then had to be added those who depended on those who had gone to war - the wives and children, widows and orphans as well as the parents who had lost sons in the war, on whom they were often financially dependent.

The situation moved Lance Bombadier Tom Lister, a Lancastrian, so much that he decided that if the Government was either unable or unwilling to do anything to improve the lives of ex-Service men, he would do something about it himself. This led to the formation of The Royal British Legion.

When the Legion’s leaders looked around them in 1921, not only did they see a gigantic task in front of them looking after those who had suffered in the recent war, they also sought to prevent further sacrifice by reminding the nation of the human cost of war and to work actively for peace.

The first ever Poppy Appeal was held in 1921 with the first Poppy Day on 11 November.

They were granted “Royal” status in 1971 and extended membership to serving members of Her Majesty’s Forces, as well as ex-Service personnel, in 1981.

Now, anyone can become a member of The Royal British Legion. They welcome men and women of all ages, whether they have served in the Armed Forces or not.

Did you know?

There has only been one year (1968) since the Second World War when a British Service person hasn’t been killed on active service.

More than 30 million Remembrance poppies, 500,000 poppies of other types, 5 million remembrance petals, 100,000 wreaths and sprays, 750,000 Remembrance Crosses and other Remembrance items are made at the Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey, each year

Hi everyone,

The Royal British Legion produces a wide range of videos of their work and special events which are all available on their YouTube channel. If you subscribe to the channel you’ll be automatically alerted to when new videos are uploaded.

I’ve posted links below to a few of my favourite videos – please do have a look and don’t forget to sign up to the channel!

Personnel Recovery Centre Edinburgh - http://bit.ly/gnn7hE

2010 Poppy Appeal Launch - http://bit.ly/hgyjlw

2 Minute Silence video - http://bit.ly/ieTBvZ

Here’s a great fundraising story to start your weekend -

Captain Sue Doran, a soldier from Marcham, will trek the equivalent of six marathons in six days during the Marathon des Sables in Morocco – and all in aid of The Royal British Legion.

Capt Doran, who has been in the Army for 29 years, said: ‘It’s the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion this year. I’m leaving the Army in July, so I felt like I wanted to do something for them before I left.’

More than 1,000 people will be taking part in the event, covering 151 miles over six days in temperatures of up to 50C! If that doesn’t sound tough enough, they’ll also be carrying their supplies in their rucksacks.

In preparation for the event, which kicks off on 2nd April, Capt Doran has been training since October and last week she walked 50 miles for the first time at her gym, which took her 12 hours and 51 minutes.

She said: ‘I’m really excited. I feel like I want to get out there and do it now. This is a bit of payback for all the help the Royal British Legion give the forces. They’re amazing to soldiers in Oxfordshire.’

Good luck Sue - we hope you raise as much money as possible and really enjoy the experience! To sponsor Sue, take a look at her fundraising page.