Minutes of the Toddington Branch of The Royal British Legion

Committee Meeting 19:30hrs

Tuesday 16^th June 2026 

1. Present -  Lee Stone, Debbie Gibbons, Pippa Brazier, John Wood, Graeme Kelly,

Bil Levinson, Glen Gadsden.

2. Apologies – Lynda Bryant, Melanie Parker.

3. Silent Tribute.

4. Exhortation

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

we will remember them.

5. Previous Meeting – Committee Meeting – 19^th May 2026

Proposed –  Glen Gadsden

Seconded – Debbie Gibbons

6. Matters Arising

No matters were discussed

7. Deputy Chairmans Report & Correspondence 

8. Future Events

20th June 2026– Toddington Summer Fete. The RBL Branch Stand, with a display of the history of Toddington RBL, this will be manned by committee members in a rota from 11am to 4pm, this will be in a shared Gazebo with the fete information point.

The Poppy Appeal Merchandise stand will also be at the fete this year, sited near the Oddfellows arms on Market Square.

28th June 2026 -  A Summer BBQ and Treasure Hunt will be held by Toddington RBL on this Sunday in the garden of the Toddington Social & Services Club, from 12:30 to 4:30pm

Prices to be £5.00 per adult with children 15yrs and under free of charge. Members, friends & family and the public are all very welcome.

The barbecue will start at 12.30pm to 4.30pm, which includes burgers, hot dogs, salad and a free fun treasure hunt for adults & children around the village for those wishing to take part.

There will also be a prize Raffle at this event to include a Knitted blanket donated from Pat Chittleburgh, and a Mulbury handbag along with other prizes donated by committee members.

Additional events this year include:

12th July – Wingfield Car Show.

24th October – RBL Coffee Morning.

8th November – Remembrance Sunday.

11th November – Armistice Day.

28th November – Branch AGM.

All these events will be discussed at future meetings.

 9.   Reports

9.1   Poppy Appeal 2025/2026 Update – Melanie Parker

Recent collection pot received from Childs bakers amounted to £25.18 and the QR code amount has been published from RBL. This amount is from the stickers on the wobblers and boxes; this could either be from the schools or local. 

Totals now are as below:

·         Local figure - £17,123.98

·         Luton schools - £13,855.82

·         QR Codes - £651.00

·         Overall total - £31,629.80

The statement of account received from RBL showed the below, so good to see just about equal.

Nationwide for this appeal has been stated as - £54.1 million.

There will be Poppy Merchandise stall at the Village Fete this year and a stall at the Wingfield Car Show with collections going to the Poppy Appeal fund.

Poppy appeal merchandise is now available to order for the poppy appeal and new for this year is a pen in addition to all the usual stock. New this year will be Volunteer Lanyards for all volunteers to wear, red lanyard for collectors and a blue ones for all PAOs which contain the essential collector ID and helpful information also available will be RBL Volunteer Tabards.

9.2 Treasurer – Debbie Gibbons

9.3 Membership Secretaries Report – Bil Levinson

The membership is unchanged from last month; we still currently have 56 members.

9.4 Web Site Report

The website is up to date with the latest meeting minutes.

9.5  Standard Bearer – Pippa Brazier

22^nd May 2026 – Attended a parade for the end of operation telic at Leighton Buzzard with the county standard.

24^th May 2026 – Attended a service with the Riders branch at the Ace café, in London.

11^th June 2026 – Attended the Lancastria service at Tower Hill. London, with the R,A.F.A standard

9.6  Branch Community Support – Lee Stone

There is currently nothing to report from community support.

9.7  Branch Facebook Page – Graeme Kelly.

Facebook followers have stayed at 32 at the time of this report.

This month we have 8 postings ranging from Remembered with Honour, the Falklands war and event postings & meetings.

Our posting for the BBQ on 28th June has had 39 views and 4 likes and our posting on the Falklands War anniversary has had 46 views and 4 likes helping to increase our engagement with the public.

We have planned posts coming up regarding the Village Fete, Armed Forces Day and the BBQ at the social and services club.

10.  Any other Business.

A discussion was had about looking into funding a RBL bench at the Toddington cemetery, positioned near the cluster of War Graves in the central part of the cemetery. 

11.  Next Meeting

The next meeting will be at 19:30hrs on Tuesday 21^st July, 2026.

If any member would like to attend a committee meeting, please contact Lee Stone or Lynda Bryant and we can send you the details.

The meeting was closed at 20:57hrs.