The Royal British Legion is the UK's leading Armed Forces charity and one of its largest membership organisations. Members get together through the network of branches and clubs all over the country and overseas to participate in social, fundraising and welfare activities.

Sedgeford & District Branch, originally formed in 1926, now meets every month at a pub or restaurant in North West Norfolk.  Please see the "news and events" page for further information.

Membership is open to everyone. If you have an interest in the objectives of the Legion and want to help and support those who have served, and their families, come and join us. We welcome men and women of all ages, whether they have served in the Armed Forces or not.

Legion membership ensures that

• Remembrance is kept alive and that the sacrifices our brave Service men and women have made are never forgotten.
• The ex-Service community have a voice and that their concerns are brought to the public eye.

Becoming a member also provides the opportunity to get involved in a wide range of activities and events held locally, regionally and nationally throughout the year.

If you wish to contact us or to report any inaccuracies or omissions on this site, please email Pamela Austin.

A good summary of what our branch is all about can be found in the first issue of '690 NEWS' which you can view under a separate tab by clicking  here '690 NEWS - issue 1-06'

However, our Newsletter Secretary, Membership and Social Secretary, Pamela, has prepared an updated history of our branch covering the last 17 years which is reproduced here:

It was in 2006 that a complete coincidence gave rise to our current Chairman and branch Membership and Social secretary joining both the Legion and the Sedgeford & District branch.  Our postman at the time returned an undelivered letter, and asked whether we knew the addressee: it turned out that she was a great and long term friend of his wife!  That led to a conversation which revealed a significant civilian and armed forces connection between us all, as a consequence of which, and as the conversation progressed, led to us being invited to join the Royal British Legion.

We did join, and – surprise, surprise – we were soon asked if we would join the committee!  I said that I would, but on my own terms – instead of a boring, repetitive monthly meeting with few attendees, I would be prepared to organise a monthly lunch for members.  To my surprise (and slight horror!) my proposal was accepted with alacrity.  I said that as publicity for the lunches and any other branch business, I would also produce a regular newsletter for members.

Hence, in December 2006, the first issue of “690 News” was produced, and distributed to all our branch members: at the time, partly due to lack of support at meetings and volunteers for the committee positions a plan was afoot to amalgamate our branch with Hunstanton so that Sedgeford would become a ‘sub branch’.  However, at the AGM in the previous month, that proposal had been rejected and a new committee elected – including, of course, my husband and myself.

“690 News” reported this, introduced members to the three committee officers, and thanked four previous committee members for their tireless contributions to the branch.  A branch profile was included, telling members the geographical area of the branch, suggesting a name change, and offering prizes for the winning suggestion for that, and for the newsletter.  No submissions were received.

However, the proposed dates and venues for monthly lunches were also published, and this proved to be something of a turning point.  Members were also invited to encourage friends and acquaintances to become members as well, and to offer to join the committee themselves.

In the second newsletter, in February 2007, I was able to report that eight members had attended our first lunch (plus one who popped in for a drink, and also the landlord of the pub selected); the second lunch was attended by eleven diners, only four of whom had attended the first lunch!  I also began to introduce the committee members to the membership by a photograph, and a write up of the chairman’s working life; this was followed by all other committee members.

Now, at the end of December 2023, 120 newsletters have been produced for the information and enjoyment of members, and in January we will enjoy our 187th lunch, having obviously had to suspend our monthly gatherings for 17 months during the pandemic, between March 2020 and the October 2021 AGM – had that not happened, we would by now have celebrated our 200^th lunch, and more.  We meet in a different venue each month, as we gradually rotate around the local area, so that we can enjoy the variety available, and the driving distances are varied as well.  There are now 42 regular attenders at lunches – over half of the branch membership – although as yet they haven’t all turned up for lunch on the same day: the average attendance is around 28!

We also have had a full committee for many years now, including our branch webmaster, to whom all praise is offered for his time and commitment in updating and maintaining our website.

December 2023

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About The Royal British Legion

We provide financial, social and emotional care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces - past and present and their families. The Legion is also the national Custodian of Remembrance and safeguards the Military Covenant between the nation and its Armed Forces and is best known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem the red poppy.

Founded in 1921, the Legion is not just about those who fought in the two World Wars of the last century, but also about those involved in the many conflicts since 1945 and those still fighting for the freedom we enjoy today. 

Visit www.britishlegion.org.uk for details of our national initiatives.