Due to Covid restrictions this was the first meeting to be held after the December 2020. (December?)

1. The Chairman opened the meeting with 2-minutes silence in remembrance of HRH Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh and of all those RBL members who have passed away since the last meeting.

2. As it was his first meeting as Chairman, Danny introduced himself to those present and thanked them for allowing him the opportunity to support and serve the members of the Branch (see letter attached).

3. He went on to express his sincere thanks to everybody over the last 18 months for the support they had given the community throughout the pandemic and he wanted to place on record his thanks to the previous Chairman, Chris, and the previous Membership Secretary, Terry, for their dedication and hard work, adding that their input and experience will be missed. Chris will remain as the Standard Bearer for the Branch.

4. The Chaiman listed a number of matters that had been raised by the RBL National and County offices which were then discussed:

1. The Northamptonshire County Chairman had resigned, not only as County Chairman but also from the Legion because of his concerns about the RBL One Legion Strategy vision. (Secretary’s note: Ian Byrnes has now taken over as County Chairman.)

1. The following One Legion Strategy information had been received:

• It was planned to invest £14million in ING (Individual Needs Grants) to include “white” and “brown” goods, funerals and Immigration fees.

• Investing more into War Pensions and the AFCS (Armed Forces Compensation Scheme).

• More investment in responsive funding for external services to support mental health and housing projects.

• An increased budget would be provided for carrying out repairs across the care home estate.

• There was a proposal to close Area Offices and Pop-up Centres as only 12% of referrals come from these sources; the money realised will be spent elsewhere as outlined above.

• The remaining Area Offices will be located in Birmingham, Belfast, Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

1. Branches can spend up to £350 of their funds for any Centenary Anniversary events as long as the local Service veteran communities are invited to the events. Event assets are available from Aylesford but will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis if raising funds for the Poppy Appeal.

1. The Great Party Poppy Appeal has been suggested as an Idea for the Centenary Celebration – Information can be found on the RBL Webpage Here.

1. All Legion activities can now be resumed in accordance with local COVID guidelines; however, if any member doesn’t feel it’s safe for them to do so, they are not obliged to attend.

1. Alan Toesand, the former Chair of Desborough Branch, has sadly passed away – John Freeman has taken over as Chair for the Branch.

5. The following Branch matters were discussed:

1. New and enthusiastic committee members are needed! Without members volunteering to be part of the Committee the Branch will continue to stagnate and eventually die off.  Moreover, there is a very real possibility of the Branch being amalgamated with another District.  The Chairman’s priority is to replace Alan, our long-serving Secretary.   Any volunteers are asked to contact the Membership Secretary (Graham).

1. Currently the Branch is donating £1000 per year to two RBL charities – Battle Back and the Galanos Care Home in Southam. However, the Chairman suggested that we look at donating to local charities outside the RBL, such as the Good Neighbours Schemes in neighbouring villages.  This would be a way of involving the Branch local communities which the Chairman feels is seriously lacking and would assist in raising our profile to, hopefully, attract new and active members.  Details of any local charities which members consider appropriate should be forwarded to the Chairman at fewins@outlook.com and will be discussed at the next meeting.

1. The Chairman expressed his concern that most Branch activities took place in and around Byfield. He suggested rotating the location of monthly meetings/lunches/events around the area to encourage better attendance but it was pointed out that this had been tried before but, for a number of reasons, had not been successful.  However, the Chairman, while noting members’ concerns, felt that it should be tried again, perhaps with modifications.

1. The lack of new members was a continuing cause of concern. Although, as noted above in para 5b, it was hoped that donating to local charities may attract new members, no further suggestions for attracting new and, most importantly, younger members, were forthcoming.  The importance of recruitment was emphasised and further discussions on how we advertise ourselves will be held over the coming months.

1. The annual BBQ will be held at Byfield School, the grounds and hall being made available free of charge. It was felt that this would be an ideal occasion to reinvigorate the Branch’s involvement within the community, especially with the £350 grant referred to in para 4c above.  A volunteer is needed to plan and organise this event which, it is expected, will involve not only the RBL members but also the local community.  The date is yet to be decided but will be in August this year.  Volunteers were asked to contact the Membership Secretary to register their availability.

1. The annual Quiz night is being planned and will take place in November.  More information will be made available nearer the time.

1. The Chairman wants to resume Branch lunches and dinners for members; anyone willing to arrange the first event was asked to contact the Membership Secretary.

6. The final item for discussion was the Poppy Appeal. The Chairman asked how much money was returned to the Branch from the Poppy Appeal collection to enable us to support Branch activities and community involvement.  The Treasurer explained that all money raised for the Poppy Appeal was sent to Legion HQ and no monies have ever been given back to the Branch.  There was also a discussion about the procedure for buying Legion wreaths for selling on to the public; it appeared that, having purchased the wreaths, the income from sales was also remitted to the Poppy Appeal; it would appear that we have, in effect, been paying twice for the wreaths.  There will be further discussion on financial matters in the next few months.

7. The Treasurer gave a quick brief on the state of finances and he assured us that there was no change from the last meeting. The Treasurer was asked to ensure that the Chairman has a full report on the financial state of the Branch prior to the next meeting.

8. The Chairman reiterated the need for members to become actively involved in Branch affairs. He was willing to undertake the role as Chairman and be the voice for the Branch, but he cannot do it alone without expanding the Committee.  Any volunteers for any position, office or function, no matter how small, will be very much appreciated.

9. With no other business the meeting was closed at 2115 and the next meeting will be Monday 5^th July @2000 in Byfield Village Hall.