In 2017, no Royal British Legion (RBL) Branch existed in Blyth, Northumberland. Realising this, Gail Armstrong (ex Women's Royal Naval Service) along with Ann Dobson began contacting others (mainly veterans) in the local area, to inform them accordingly and promote her idea, plus gauge support, of re-establishing a local Branch.
On Remembrance Day 2017, after the Blyth Parade, a meeting was arranged in the Commissioner's Quay for those interested in re-forming a branch and to determine the way forward. Through a lot of hard work and endeavour, a public meeting was held to formally propose the Branch inauguration. With approximately 25 locals in attendance and help from an RBL Cramlington Committee member, our own committee was established and the intention to reform the branch submitted to Northumbria County for approval. On March 19th 2018, Blyth once again had a Royal British Legion presence after a gap of ten years.
The initial committee consisted of mostly veterans from all three services or those from a forces family, none of whom were Legion Members nor had any experience of what a branch did. We went in blind, but full of passion to help others and bags of enthusiasm and support from the Town Council and residents.
Our vision still stands.
Branch Vision Statement
The Blyth Branch will be visible in the community and will support ex armed forces veterans, serving personnel and their families. We will do this by providing a regular meeting place where they can comfortably socialise with others and seek support from the branch should they need it.
We will raise funds all year round with an exciting family orientated calendar of events for the people of Blyth and through this raise awareness of the fantastic work the RBL carries out. We will work alongside other charities and groups in the town and support them where possible.
We will also focus on engaging young people of Blyth and encourage them to join the branch as Youth Members. This will provide them with opportunities to work in the community and gain valuable experience for future careers in the armed forces or other vocational areas.
Our membership steadily increased to just over 100 by the end of 2019, through our Sunday Breakfast Club and Monthly Socials. We were invited to attend most of the town summer events and enjoyed sharing our work with others. We also took over the Poppy Appeal for the first time from the Rotarians who had been doing a great job in the absence of a branch.
Our plans for year three were stopped in their tracks by Covid. However, we remained available through social media and use of Zoom. When allowed we held breakfast club in the park, and enjoyed seeing our pals again in the sunshine. Some of our isolated, beneficiaries formed their own support bubble which was a life saver during the hardest times. We did manage to man two sites for ten days during Poppy Appeal, and raised an incredible £10,000 despite there being a much reduced footfall.
