Remembering the Korean War | Highlights from Horse Guards Parade

Brigadier Harry Everard.

The Interment of Brigadier Everard's ashes took place at Tidworth Cemetry on the 16th of September. Mrs Everard has sent in some images from the sevice which was attended by family and friends and former colleagues of the Brigadier. Two RBL Standards were present, Shrewton and the County standard. 
Brigadier Everard served with the Royal Engineers for 37 years.

Link to the service remembering the Korean war. We will remember them.

Veterans Support Project Swindon

Chivalry and Teamwork

Todays (4 Feb 2023) County Conference drew members from far and wide to the meeting. The theme of the conference was pretty much summed up at the end of the day when a potential maiden in distress situation arose. Teamwork.

Many of you will know Maureen Hansford from Shrewton. Today she was in attendance as branch standard bearer and as ever did a fantastic job with the other members of the standard bearer team. As she was about depart however disaster appeared to have struck. The dreaded "Flat Tyre" and now what do I do. 
Well as you can imagine none of our members would let a damsel struggle and certainly not the standard bearer team.
Up steps our County Parade Marshall and a select support team to jump straight to the young ladies aid. Tyre swiftly swapped enabling Maureen to get home safe and sound. Photographic evidence is attached.
A question raised by a member who should remain nameless was "How many standard bearers does it take to change a tyre?" 
Maureen is not too worried as they enabled her onward journey to be a safe one.

Answers to the question raised above on a postcard to............

Chairmans Seminar Part Deux!

County Chairman Paul Mayo  has given us details on the Second Part of the Chairmans Briefing. The seminar will again take place at Corsham RBL Club on the 10th of December at 11.00 a.mn. and finish around 3p.m.

Agenda:

• Update from latest Membership Town Hall
• Recap on County activities/structure
• Recap on what Branches are for
• Continued workshop on Branch structure
• Continued workshop on support to Branches from County

Please do bring along anyone who may be interested in this as we welcome all. Lunch will be provided.

Operation London Bridge 

Kevin Toft and Amanda Bearryman took part as Wiltshire's standard bearers. Here is Kevin's report

Mon 19^th September 2022 

Following the Queens death on Thursday 8^th September, “Operation London Bridge” kicked in. This was the code name to arrange the State Funeral of our Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As Her Majesty was the Royal British Legion’s Patron, we were tasked with providing Standard Bearers to line the route of Her funeral procession. 

On Friday 9^th September whilst on holiday in Devon I received an email notifying me of my nomination as a standard bearer to take part in the State Funeral by the Royal British Legion. And so began the most unbelievable and proudest week of my life! 

The email requested confirmation of my availability by 1200 on Sun 11 September and to be in London by the same time on Tuesday 13^th September until the following week. We were to arrange our own travel, they would arrange security clearance and the whole thing had to kept hush hush ie no details to be put on social media about what we were doing or where we were staying (incidentally we were treat like Kings and Queens in the West End at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch). 

What followed over the next week was truly remarkable! We arrived in London to a formal welcome, briefed, fed watered then ordered to be ready in “best kit” for overnight rehearsals in Whitehall at the Cenotaph where it would be our task to march onto the National War Memorial on Parliament Street and salute our late Queen’s coffin with the Act of Homage as her Gun Carraige pulled by 200 sailors passed our contingent of 72 Royal British Legion Standard Bearers. 

We started our practice that first night on arriving in London, with through the night rehearsals starting around midnight going right through to breakfast at 7am. The days following consisted of more briefs, kit preparations, shopping for polish and whitener around Oxford Street and more parades to check our kit and practice our drills. 

As you were aware during this week London was in a state of chaos with miles and miles of mourners and well-wishers queuing for hours to see the Queens Laying in State at Westminster Abbey and lay flowers in Green and Hyde Park. One-way systems put in place to accommodate the mass crowds and so many armed police made it feel like a war zone. Over the weekend before the funeral, we were allowed some down time and this is where most of us would walk around the capital to view the flower displays or just sightsee. 

A Big Day – Monday 19^th September. 

Breakfast at 0530am, muster and kit check 0630am, depart by bus to Whitehall 0645am.  

There followed the most amazing day you could ever imagine. Bussed from our hotel at Marble Arch through the West End with the streets packed with spectators clapping and cheering us all the way to Whitehall. Just before 0900am we formed up outside the MOD building in Whitehall and marched to the applauding public in 2 ranks on to the Cenotaph.  

Once halted and turned to the left to face the procession route we were given “eyes right” and spaced ourselves perfectly in front of packed crowds who had been getting into position overnight and to a viewing public estimated at 7.5 billion people watching our every move from their TV sets at home. 

To say being proud is an understatement with the hairs on the back of our necks stood on end as we carried out our part during this once in a lifetime experience. 

Our part concluded after dipping our standards to marching bands, the passing columns of troops from all arms of our forces. During the Act of Homage, we glanced as the Queens coffin passed followed by a salute by our new King His Majesty King Charles III and the State Cars that followed. 

We marched off parade shortly after they passed while they made their way to Windsor Castle, later followed a reception back at our hotel were we graciously toasted our late Queen and the New King in the traditional way with a glass of Port. There followed an address by our National President Lt Gen James Bashall CB, CBE who presented every standard bearer with one of the highest awards of recognition by the RBL, a National Certificate of Appreciation which I now display proudly at home. 

Kevin

RBL on Parade

The RBL County standard bearers from all over the UK were on parade for the funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. They were at the Cenotaph and Jacob Young MP for Redcar & Cleveland has put this video on a Facebook page. This can be viewed HERE. Marvellous

Morgans Vale Memorial Service

Morgans Vale held a memorial service for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Pictures from the event can be seen here

Festival Of Remembrance 

As many of you will have seen the FoR coverage was absolutely wonderful this year. I believe I know why that was as this picture will make obvious to those of you that saw the programme.

Malcolm Dean's trip to Normandy

As you may have seen in the MSO Bulletin above Malcolm from Downton Branch shared some photos and a video. Sadly the video was to big to put on the website so we created a link to an external storage area and hopefully you will take time to view the video.
Thank-you for the video Malcolm.

Welcome to Our NEW MSO

You will be pleased to hear that our new Membership Support Officer, Nicola Burand, has arrived and is  looking forward to getting to know the branches and members around Wiltshire. Here is an introduction from Nicola sent out by email.

Hello

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say hello and introduce myself. I am Nicola and I am your new permanent MSO for Wiltshire.
I am finding my feet and getting to grips with the county and will be here for you if you need me, If I don’t know the answers to your questions I will find out and get back to you ASAP. 

I understand you have had a period where you haven’t had a permanent MSO and have had various people covering, I have been meeting with them all to gain a better understanding of the branches in Wiltshire and to gain insight of any outstanding things that need to be resolved now that I am in post.

I would like to meet as many people across the county as I can in the next few months, therefore I hope to come along to your branch meetings so do let me know when these are and if you would like me to try to attend. 

In the meantime, please do save my email address and feel free to email me as and when required and I will be doing my best to ensure a prompt and efficient support network to you all. 

I look forward to hitting the ground running and getting to know you all over the coming months.

Kind Regards 

Nicola Burand

Preparations Continue.

As we draw closer to the State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the RBL are also making preparations to be part of the day. Our two standard bearers Kevin Toft and Amanda Bearryman are part of this tribute representing Wiltshire. The pictures show just a small part of the standard that is required to honour Her Majesty on her final journey. Well done to both of you.

The Queen

Jason Coward, National Chairman

Morgans Vale, Woodfalls and Redlynch Centenary.

The branch were joined by the local community and members from branches at Wilton, Shrewton, Ludgershall and Downton on Sunday 15th May to celebrate the branches centenary. 

The celebrations included a march, accompanied by the Woodfalls Band, through the Village to St Mary’s Church where a thanks giving service was held.  During the service the old Branch Standard was laid up and Reverend Veronica Bachelor commissioned the new Standard into service. 

After the service refreshment and many stories were shared around.  During this time Branch member Desmond Longfield presented a Branch certificate to George Notley a 99 years of age veteran.  George served in the Royal Navy through the Second World War and after.  He also completed wartime trips to the Arctic Circle for which he received the “Arctic Star”.

Click on the photos for larger versions.

Royal British Legion Amesbury - En Marche!

Richard Allen the recently elected Vice-Chairman of Amesbury Royal Br­itish Legion has set out the new twin aims for the Br­anch. Firstly to create social events for Members, secondly to raise the RBL’s community profile and involvement both​ with the town, serving personnel, Cadets and young people in general.

He said that everyone knew only too well that there had not been many social activities in the Branch for a very long time, due to COVID.
These dual aims he hoped would result in renewed interest and attendance by curr­ent members and recr­uitment of new people attracted by the fresh, outward-looking image.
There is huge public goodwill in the town, which is always very obvious during the Annual Poppy App­eal.​

All the Branch social activities will in the future be centered around what the members want and suggest. Having said this, in ord­er to kickstart thin­gs without delay just for this year and to foreshadow what can be done with a li­ttle imagination, a start had already been made.
Four ​events for this year have been pr­ovisionally booked; a brewery visit, a tour of a local fully automated distribut­ion centre, a Jubilee year Dinner, and a High Tea, plus a whisky tasting session probably nearer Christmas.

​ He further urged Members to thi­nk about how to invo­lve the public in so­me of the Branch social events, how to create links wi­th young people and develop Legion presence at town eve­nts such as the Super Fete 2022 and the Festival of Youth 20­23 at Bonnymead.
A strong link has also been forged with 3 REME The Committee looks forward very mu­ch to working closely with them.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation by the Vice-Chairman, of Certificates for Out­standing Service to Chief Technician Huw Griffiths RAF (recently promoted to Flight Sergeant!) and Glyn Jones ex-REME, now a renowned violin maker and repairer. Huw has spent 20 years volunteeri­ng in various import­ant RBL roles. He is currently the great­ly valued Branch Sec­retary and Welfare Officer. Glyn has rel­inquished his positi­ons as Poppy Appeal Coordinator and erst­while Remembrance Pa­rade organiser to take on the post of Treasurer and the pr­estigious role of St­andard Bearer. His achievements in fundr­aising are legendary; even on occasion surpassing Salisbury! Both have been tire­less workers: their dedication, always cheerful enthusiasm, loyalty and suppor­tiveness have embodi­ed the very essence of the Legion's spir­it and raison d'être. He said that it was impossible to do justice to their con­tribution in these few words. The members all enjo­yed a welcome meal of Bangers and Mash. This evening provi­ded food for thought as well as fuel for bodily sustenance and will be the first of many such get-togethers.

Malcolm Dean's trip to Normandy

As you may have seen in the MSO Bulletin above Malcolm from Downton Branch shared some photos and a video. Sadly the video was to big to put on the website so we created a link to an external storage area and hopefully you will take time to view the video.
Thank-you for the video Malcolm.

The Falklands Conflict

The Royal British Legion has announced commemorative plans for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict in 2022.
Follow the link HERE to see how it will be conducted.

MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN

Dear Branch Chairmen and Secretaries,   

I hope you’re well and enjoy the spring weather.  

The Covid-19 pandemic is slowly getting under control, but we would like to remind branches that any events/activities they organise must adhere to the local regulations.   

Please visit your government’s website to check the latest information on restrictions and guidelines: 

England: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus   

Wales: https://gov.wales/current-restrictions  

NI: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-regulations-guidance-what-restrictions-mean-you   

Standard Bearers can now attend funerals if invited by the family of the deceased, provided they are included in the number of people allowed to be at the funeral. Each Standard Bearer should continue to monitor local situation and most importantly their own health to ensure they stay safe and keep everyone else safe. 

With best wishes, 

Una Cleminson 

National Chairman 

ADVICE FOR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

Question Regarding Covid 19 ( Corona Virus) Precautions

As the situation changes hour by hour more information becomes available to help in the control of the disease. The following links to documents with RBL advice on various subjects can be followed by clicking on the RED link.

RBL Volunteers

RBL General Advice

RBL Volunteers and Staff

Seend Branch Hard at it

Kevin Toft has sent us this information on some great work being done by his branch in the village of Bishops Cannings.

In support of the Royal British Legion and the Poppy Appeal on its 100th Anniversary large poppies have been placed around the entrances to our village in Bishops Cannings and each one has kindly been sponsored by individuals and local businesses in the area. Many thanks to the 1st Bishops Cannings Brownies, Heritage Fine Foods, Roses Ironmongers, The Crown Inn and James Robson for your kind donation to the Poppy Appeal.

A full set of pictures are available here.

Kevin has also been hard at work at work for a change and has a great display of Poppy and associated items for sale raising funds for the R.B.L. Thanks for your efforts Kevin.

Seend Rededication Service

A service to rededicate the Seend War Memorial was held on the 2nd of December with the Duchess of Cornwall in attendance. A report in the Gazette and Herald can be found HERE

Bishop Cannings Memorial Dedication.

A service of dedication for 15 airmen killed around the area in various accidents during WW2 will take place on Saturday 4th December at 2pm at a newly erected memorial in Horton Road Bishops Cannings. There is more information here but anyone able to attend is welcome. A report in the Marlborough News can be seen HERE

100 Hours of Remembrance

This year in Devizes Wayne Cherry had planned again to stand his 100 Hours of Remembrance but due to ill health was unable to take part. However as the event is so important to Devizes  former REME Sgt. Ian Conner-Lewis offered to do the 100 hours himself. Good news travels well and the link is to an article in the Gazette and Herald.  Well done Lewy and get well soon Wayne.

Malmesbury Branch Centenary Event

Malmesbury branch celebrated in style with a wonderful exhibition to celebrate the Branch's centenary in Malmesbury Abbey and service to mark the branches 100th birthday recently. The exhibition will be on display for 2 weeks after which it is hoped to be shown to local schools.
A full report can be seen on this link to a PDF document supplied and some pictures from the event can be seen here.

Timeline of the RBL

We are 100!! How many other great charities can say that? And how many can say they do the fantastic work we do ?

Just to show what and where we have got to here is a chart of the Timeline of the RBL.

For a more detailed history lesson click this link.

East Knoyle Centenary

East Knoyle will celebrate their Centenary in September and Ron Clark has put together a PDF of the branches history. Follow this Link to read all about it.

MORE Important Information Ref Covid 19 and the RBL

Please see below an important message from Karolina Brzeska, Head of Membership Operations.

Good morning, 

Following a large number of queries about branches ‘re-opening,’ we have created a new COVID-19 guidance document (attached).

Also, if the link to the funeral guidance within the document does not work, please use this one: 

Government Guidance Covid 19

Please make sure you share it with your County Committees and branches. I will also send it out on O365 and post on Yammer. 

I hope it covers all aspects, but if you or your members have any queries, please get in touch. 

Best wishes

Karolina Brzeska

Head of Membership Operations

A video message from the Director General

Dear All,
Over these last weeks I have spoken to many people who are doing all they can to keep our country and communities working, from those in the big supermarkets to friends trying to run their own small businesses, from those who are Serving to politicians and to delivery drivers, from other charities to staff working across the Legion and with members who are supporting our beneficiaries in communities across the UK and Europe. We are all facing real and fundamental issues with huge unknowns and many common challenges and shared concerns. All are doing their very best to understand and navigate this new world. None have all the answers. None expect to get everything right but all I have spoken to are determined to play their part as best they can and build stronger communities and nations as we emerge from this.

The Legion was created as a response to massive challenge and change. The red poppy took root and grew as a national (indeed international) symbol of remembrance and hope. This short message reflects those challenges and that shared determination. Please forgive the rather home made recording. https://youtu.be/oGxADTAE5iE

Best wishes

Charles

Charles Byrne

Director General

Poppy Party at Seend

This story has been sent in by Kevin Toft Seend Branch Secretary to Paul our MSO. Great stuff. Thank you Kevin.

As you are aware Seend Branch assisted a local parishioner (Alison Kent) and now branch member in the National RBL100 Centenary event "The Great Poppy Party". What started out as a band practice for Alison and her band "Strings Incognito" and when seeing this event advertised contacted me to see if our branch could help her organise the event and hopefully raise a few £100's for the Royal British Legion. 

On 15 June we met at our local pub and spoke with the tenants Judith and her partner Gary, we threw a couple of ideas around to come with a small fundraiser. We agreed on a tea party and an RBL stand. Which grew into something a little bit bigger! 

In the following weeks and after speaking to a few local businesses and the team at Babcock MOD Lyneham, what followed was unbelievable.

We posted a message on our branch facebook page asking branch members for help with baking and raffle prizes, Babcock agreed to make us 2 BBQs, and the local businesses fully supplied our BBQ and Tea Party. 3 bands agreed to perform for us and several WW2 enthusiasts turned up with their vintage military vehicles. We even had representation from the Riders Branch. 

The County store provided 2 gazebos, some stock for our poppy stand, the National Events Team helped with supplying decoration, collection buckets and a cashless collection device. The service from them was outstanding. 

So with some fantastic organisation and teamwork we were able to fit out the pub garden and camping field with a "Poppy" style event fit for the masses. We had around 200 guests arrive; local children took part in our fancy-dress competition. We even had a duck race in the recently cleared stream in the pub garden. Donations for the raffle and competitions included Gift vouchers, Photoshoots, Manicures, Meals for 2 and tickets for the REME Museum at Lyneham. 

Branch members manned our raffle table and membership stand in one tent, the second was manned again by branch members running a children's toy stand alongside a wreath making table and another fundraiser "guess the number of pins on Tommy the WW1 soldier". We had lots of interest and requests for information on assistance for welfare and a feeling we made a difference and raised the profile of the Legion in our area massively.

We ran the fun day from 2pm until late into the evening avoiding the rain, with 3 completely different bands playing for us and enough burgers and cakes to feed everyone. We had no idea how well we would do until the following few days when we counted the takings .... well be beat our estimate by a few £'s. The total raised so far is in excess of £3500. 

What a day we had! All pulling together and from a simple idea with an aim of just getting people together after the year we have had. That was it really!
The team that set the party up were:
Kevin Toft, Alison Kent, Paul Robinson, Judith Macfarlane (landlady) and her partner Gary Molloy.

The Bands: @59, Take5 and Strings Incognito.

Donors: Babcock MOD Lyneham, Bakkavor Devizes, Morrisons Devizes, Roses Ironmongers, Padfield Porkies, Planks Dairy.

The Venue: The Crown Inn, Bishops Cannings.
Lots of photos to see here 

Can you help?

Warminster Branch chairman Andrew Clark has sent this to the branch members but if you feel able to help I have no doubt it will be welcomed

"I have received an email from Michael Martin, who is helping David Rose ex Green Howard who is suffering from MND and is trying to raise funds for SSAFA and MND by completing a Salisbury Plain 100km challenge.  See link below.  Please take a look and if you can help please do.

https://salisbury-plain-100k9.webnode.co.uk/contact/  "

 Thanks folks

Membership News Letter July 2021

A new RBL News Letter is now available for your information. Follow this link to the PDF with all the details and news.

  Branch News and Photograhs

• Standard Bearers Competition
  
  
• Trowbridge Dedication Service
  
  
• County Parade June 11th Gallery
  
  
•  Warminster News Letter 
  
  
• Branch Meeting Minutes
  
  
• Ramsbury Somme Memorial Video
  
  
• East Knoyle Somme Memorial Photos
  
  
• Warminster Delegate Report National Conference

COVID 19 and SCAMMERS.

Taking care to avoid them

As we continue in our personal efforts to slow and eventually stop the spread of Covid 19 we now have another enemy to face. SCAMMERS !

Wiltshire MSO Paul Bunce has heard of several horror stories where criminals are targeting older and vulnerable members of the public to relieve them of hard earned savings and more.
Here are a few tips from Paul on the types of possible scam being operated at the moment.

Take care and if it sounds too good to be true there is a good chance it really is.

Scams to look out for:

Smishing is sending text messages that appear to come from a trustworthy source like the UK government, your mobile phone provider or even your own doctor which try to steal personal or financial information. If you doubt the text’s authenticity, don't click links. Visit www.gov.uk to check any information given. Verify an organisation’s phone number from their website or from old printed correspondence. Some numbers are linked to premium rate numbers registered overseas which can cost up to £50.00 per minute to call, so in some cases all the criminal wants you to do is make the call and they are onto a winner! 

Phishing is sending emails which try to make you divulge sensitive personal or financial information. They may appear to be Covid-19 tax refunds, reimbursements from travel bookings, unfinished Netflix or Amazon Prime sign-ups, safety advice via email and even donation requests from our own charity. Fraudsters will try to make you click on links that aren't safe, links that direct you to fake websites that look the same as a common trusted company when it fact they are a mirrored sites set up to steal your money. So think before you click. If in doubt, then don't click. And don’t open any attachments from senders that you don’t know. If you’re still worried, talk to family, friends or someone else you trust.

Purchase scams offer items like toilet rolls, protective equipment, sanitising products and other desirable goods for sale, that you will never receive. Be careful paying for anything via bank transfer and only buy goods from reputable companies that you know and trust.

Vishing is unsolicited phone calls. Always be suspicious of ‘cold-callers’. Don’t be afraid to challenge them or hang up if you can’t verify the caller. Banks, police etc. will never ask for security information, so never give out personal details. If you’re concerned, call the organisation back on the number listed on their website, ideally on a different phone as criminals can sometimes keep the line open. Or if it’s your bank, use the number on the back of your card.

Calling card scams are cards pushed though your door offering to collect groceries that you pay for in advance using cash. Of course, once you have paid you may never see the groceries or your money ever again. Be careful of calling cards or telephone buddy offers using  premium rate phone numbers as no genuine person or organisation would use these to offer help and you could end up with a huge phone bill.

There are many genuine services set up by kind and caring people in all areas of Wiltshire offering to collect groceries or provide assistance. Don’t be afraid to use them but always ask for ID or use a service you know. If in doubt, ask someone you know and trust for advice. 

I hope you all stay safe during this pandemic and I’m looking forward to see many of you face to face once the danger has passed.

Paul

Latest Head Office E-Newsletter

The latest version of the members e-newsletter can be found here.

Branch Accounts Deadline September 31st

Would all branch treasurers please be good enough to submit your accounts by the end of September. 

If you are having any problems please do get in touch so I can help to resolve. 

I have also arranged with our RBL IE Anne Bevis to hold Open Days on the dates below where you can pop in your completed accounts, come in with any questions , have your accounts IE by Anne or any other general enquiries:

Please member to bring all your receipts, paying in books, chequebooks stubs and any other account receipts with you if you would like Anne to IE your accounts. 

Myself and Anne will be at the following locations from 11:00 – 3pm on the dates below: 

13^th August – Swindon Area Office, 52 – 54 Regent Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1JS

14^th August – The Red Lion, Salisbury, Churchill Suite, Milford Street, Salisbury, SP1 2AN

3^rd September - Swindon Area Office, 52 – 54 Regent Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1JS

27^th September  - The Red Lion, Salisbury, Churchill Suite, Milford Street, Salisbury, SP1 2AN

Kind Regards 

Fi Hedges

New County Vice Chairman

At the recent County Committee meeting we said farewell to current Mike Challinor and his good lady Priscilla as they leave the county to move to Shropshire. 

This left the vice chairmans position vacant and we are pleased to announce that......

Squadron Leader John Mann MBE RAF (Retd) a current member of the CCEX  and President of the Potterne Branch has kindly agreed to take up the position for Wiltshire and is very much looking forward to working with all the branches and CCEX Committee as the County Vice Chairman.

This is the very man:

As an introduction John has penned a brief service history which can be found here.

Standard Bearers Competition 2019

This years competition was as ever hard fought and the entrants produced a close contest.
The final results were:
RBL Standard Bearer Competition
RBL
1st. Kevin Toft  Seend Branch
2nd. Dale Williams Westbury Branch 
3rd.Peter Hall Melksham Branch

Womens Section
1st Amanda Berryman 
2nd Tracy Butt

Congratulations to the entrants and of course the winners.

 Photos here .  And here

Update as to WHY Darren is Doing a Runner!

Because its all in a good cause. Well two to be fair. Pop over to the page for more information

Well done Darren and good luck with it sport.

Follow this LINK to his Just Giving page.

Why not help him reach his targets? Every little helps. 

 Step Together 

About Step Together Volunteering:

• Step Together helps those people most in need of support to transform their lives through community volunteering. Working through a team of outreach workers we provide tailored one-to-one support to help individuals into volunteering placements that match their needs and interests, and help them develop the personal and practical skills required to build a more positive future.

• Step Together Volunteering has supported the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick Service Personnel and Veterans since 2012. We have staff based in Edinburgh, Catterick and Tidworth.

• For more information about Step Together Volunteering, please visit www.step-together.org.uk

 More Info HERE

Poppy Pin Soldier

Many of you will recall Wayne Cherry and his magnificent 100 Hours of Remembrance last year.  Wayne is now attempting to cover this silhouette with Poppy Pins from the last few years of Remembrance. As you can see he is part way there but could do with a little help to complete the project. He is looking for any and all donations of the poppy pins that you may wish to donate. Please do what you can from 1 to 100 pins. Wayne thinks he needs about another 1000 to finish.Contact him via his FACEBOOK page   

Great Pilgrimage GP 90 

Well the trip has been and gone and many many members were able to attend. Our MSO Fi Hedges was there and took a HUGE number of photos. As its such a massive number, 1400+, I have created a folder offline from the website for anyone who wishes to have a peruse. Thanks Fi. 
Link to the photos. Just click here.

The Reflections of a Standard Bearer.

Ron Fraser reflects on his service for his branch as he stands down after 10 years

Great War Memorial Booklet

Robert Wellen has sent in some information on a newly published booklet regarding Salisbury Diocese Bell Ringers who were called up during WW1. Details are available here

Royal Charter Consultation

Dear All

Please find email sent on behalf of Sandra Fruish ( assistant Director of Membership) below.

Please can you circulate this to your Committee and Members: 

I am also trying to see if I can arrange a face to face meeting for the Consultation in Swindon in the next month so will email this out if it is possible.;

Email:

We’ve been advised to review our royal charter and would like all members to give us their input and guidance  The advice we’ve been given comes from charity legal experts who have gone through our Charter and concluded that it doesn’t follow guidance on what is nowadays considered to be best practice

 The Royal Charter is made up of three elements – the Articles, the Rules and the Governing Regulations – the order of precedence for these being outlined in this graphic (right). There are also a number of by-laws and standing orders on various topics. Reading through all the documents, it soon becomes clear that there’s significant duplication with sections of our Membership Handbook, while a number of inconsistencies stand out. It’s also possible that the documents could be made more flexible, allowing us  to serve the Legion’s beneficiaries

A PDF OF THE CHARTER CAN BE FOUND HERE

 The survey is now open at https://britishlegion.citizenspace.com/membership/royal-charter-have-your-say

 We will be dedicating two days on Yammer to the consultation where a member of the Project team will be available to discuss with you any issues or questions you wish to raise. 

These will be

• Monday 20^th August, 1000-1500
• Thursday 19^th September, 1000-1500

Whilst these events have primarily been created to reach out to the membership of the Overseas and National branches, all are welcome to participate.   

Sent of behalf of:

Sandra Fruish MBA MSc

Assistant Director Membership

Kind Regards

Fi Hedges

Membership Support Officer - Wiltshire

Devizes News Letters

Devizes have sent through news letters they produce for the branch and great stuff it is too.Pop over to this page and have a look. Thanks to Wayne for the info.

East Knoyle Branch Remembrance Sunday Photos

This was received from East Knoyle, Semley and Sedghill branch following thier decision to get the standard cleaned. As Ron says its "Only 93 years old" so is it an antique? Great stuff and a credit to the curators in my humble opinion! 

Commemorative Pamphlet From East Knoyle

A fabulous pamphlet has been produced by the East Knoyle, Semley and Sedgehill branch and the village council commemorating villagers that joined up during WW1. Please take time to have a look and see what a wonderful job has been done by everyone involved. Just click on the title above.

Pictures from the recent East Knoyle village fete can be seen here. Good to see the branch doing the flag waving bit. Thanks for the photos to Ron Clark 

We have been advised of a special offer from Head Office which may appeal to some of our member. Details can be found here with a poster for download 

We have been advised of an upcoming book launch that may be of interest to members. A poster for download is available here and the author has sent the following information.

My late father's book titled  'My Underground War'. is his memoirs of the five years he spent as a prisoner-of-war during WWII. He typed them in the 1970s, and they subsequently vanished into a storage box, which came to me after he died. I recently edited and published them.

The first half of the book covers his capture near Dunkirk in 1940 and his experiences in the Stalag VIIIB PoW camp. For most of this time he endured forced labour and occasional beatings in a coal mine. The second half deals with his escape from the ‘Death March’ and his liberation by the Red Army. 

This is a gripping yarn of capture, resistance, and liberation, revealing for the first time how he and a close-knit group of chums carried on the war despite their imprisonment, and even got away with killing a couple of Nazi guards who had ruthlessly bullied frail prisoners. It has initially received excellent reviews.

The relatively short book is available exclusively from Amazon.co.uk as either a Kindle download or a slim paperback. Here are links to the pages on Amazon for the Kindle and paperback versions.

As shown on the updated County Circular information here there is an  "Expression of Interest" form for any member willing to help in any capacity around the county. Please help if you feel able to do so.

Great Pilgrimage GP 90 

Well the trip has been and gone and many many members were able to attend. Our MSO Fi Hedges was there and took a HUGE number of photos. As its such a massive number, 1400+, I have created a folder offline from the website for anyone who wishes to have a peruse. Thanks Fi. 
Link to the photos. Just click here.

The  County Conference Awards

At the recent county conference in Trowbridge the various cups and awards were made. A few photographs can be found here

Highworth Chairman at the GP90 Parade

Link to a Swindon Advertiser article covering Gerry Evans, chairman of the Highworth branch of the Royal British Legion attendance at the GP90 parade in Ypres.

Highworth Poppy Rocks

Great idea from Highworth branch. Pop over to this page and check it out.

Purton During WW1

My name is Rick Dixon and I have written a book on the Great War - Purton in the First World War - which I feel will be of interest to some of your members.  The book covers the events and causes of the war (from Napoleonic times) in the first 13 chapters; the course of the war in a month by month timeline from August 1914 to November 1918 (52 chapters); and the subsequent effects of the war leading to the Second war and modern-day problems (10 chapters).

The book is a précis of the war in 220 pages and in colour wherever possible and is priced at £15 (profits to Combat Stress).  It is skewed towards the names of all from the village of Purton (Wiltshire) who served in the war telling their stories within the overall war setting.  The actions of the men whose names are on the Purton Cenotaph are brought back to life.  Although the names are specifically from Purton, the experiences and consequences are typical of most villages and small towns in England.  It also has stories provided from local people remembering events of the time as it affected their families.  The book has been well-received by both Wiltshire Libraries and Swindon Libraries who have bought multiple copies, and Gloucester City RBL who are keen to promote it.  The work has been serialised in Purton Magazine starting in 2013, and will continue until July 2019.

The publication of the book has been timed to coincide with the Centenary Commemorations of the 1918 Armistice and all profits will go to the services charity Combat Stress.

I would be grateful if you would be able to let your branches know about the book which is available by post from me: Rick Dixon, tel 01793 759123, email rickdixonmail@gmail.com.  There is no additional charge for postage.

Highworth Chairman at the GP90 Parade

Link to a Swindon Advertiser article covering Gerry Evans, chairman of the Highworth branch of the Royal British Legion attendance at the GP90 parade in Ypres.

Just Giving Page for Bobs Sky Dive

Poppy Appeal Organiser for Market Lavington, Wiltshire, Bob Naylor will be joining the 'Thank You' Sky Dive with The Red Devils on Sept 18th in aid of The Royal British Legion. Bob is aiming to raise a good sum of money for the RBL and every penny counts. Please support Bob via his Just Giving page here

Salisbury Touchpoint Launched

Follow this link to the full story

County Conference 2018

The County Conference took place on the 13th January. Minutes will follow but meanwhile back at the ranch here is a small selection of photographs of the eventand a list of prizewinners. GALLERY

The County Chairmans address to conference and the County Vice Chairmans address to conference can be seen on the relevant links above

At the conference the annual awards of silverware were made to branches. The full list of of winners and runners up can be seen here

Salisbury Cathedral Evensong to Commemorate The Centenary of the End of the First World War  – Sunday 10^th June 2018 

More information and pictures here

Glider Pilot Regiment

I have had information regarding the Glider Pilot Regiment Society from John Nicholls. 

Happy 99th Birthday sir

On Monday of last week Vic Reed reached the remarkable age of 99!  The Bromham branch decided to celebrate this event by presenting him with a bottle of 'the good old mountain dew'  He is seen here on the left of the picture, with his lifelong freind and companion,  Ivor Grardener, on the right, sampling this appreciatively.  They have been virtually inseperable since joining the Wiltshire T.A. before the war.  They landed on Gold Beach on D-Day, and fought their way out of France by way of Caen, under their leader, Feild Marshal Montgomery.  They were members of the Mortar Platoon in The Wiltshire Regiment, and were only seperated when Vic recieved leg injuries at Else, near Nijmegen, and was repatriated.  He nearly lost his legs, but the doctors managed to save them.  Ivor soldiered on, eventually helping the prisoners at Belsen Concentration Camp, after its relief.They both worked together after the war at the Avon Rubber Co.  We also sent a lovely bunch of flowers to Vic's wife, Doreen, who is, sadly, confined to a home.  A grateful French Nation made them members of the Legion d'Honneur, for their efforts in releiving France, which they richly deserved!

     I am Pete Holt, Bromhams Standard Bearer, and they have done me the honour of being flanked by the pair.  I will never let them suffer the embarassment of knowing that they are my heroes and role models.  On a quiet evening, over a glass of the 'dew' they occasionally let me in to their world, telling me what they think I might understand.  I am no spring chicken, obviously, but whwen they landed on Gold Beach, I was 3years and a month old!   Without them I might very well not be here. So heres to both of them, and long may they survive!

Crockerton School say Thank You

Warminster Branch members Alan Aiken, Bob Waignwright and Roger Kingshot attended Crockerton School Remembrance service and by the llok of it made a big impression. Heres a copy of a thankyou letter from pupils at the school. I believe the technical expression for this kind of thing is "BRILLIANT" 

A Message from Charles Byrne Director General 

Dear Members,

Thank you to everyone for all your hard work over the last months, weeks and days preparing for and delivering this year’s Poppy Appeal and Remembrance period. And I know for many that your work continues to be just as busy. The levels of support I have seen from the public, from volunteers and members and from partners has been superb.  

I want to share with you information about Our Purpose, our five year strategy and the Veterans Gateway programme. 

 We do a huge amount at the Legion and not everyone understands the range of all our work so it is important that we are all clear about what we do, why do it and how we can each play a part.

So we have taken time to consult with trustees, staff, members and the general public to build a shared understanding, a shared purpose.  

We are at the heart of a national network that supports our Armed Forces through thick and thin – ensuring their unique contribution is never forgotten.

Inspired by those we support, our aim is to offer the breadth, depth and quality of service they deserve. We cannot do this on our own.

Our new five year strategy follows simply from this. Central to our strategy is collaboration between members, volunteers, staff and our many partners. Given this I am delighted to announce that with our principle partners at SSAFA, Combat Stress, Poppy Scotland and Connect Assist, we have been awarded a £2 million grant from the MOD to establish the Veterans’ Gateway programme. The programme will provide a single point of contact to ensure that all British Armed Forces veterans, wherever they are based, can get help quickly and efficiently from whichever organisation is best placed to provide it.

Please click here to watch a video in which I summarise our strategy and provide examples of what it will mean for us. In addition we are developing a number of resources for you, about Our Purpose and our strategy, which will be distributed through your branches. 

Best wishes, 

Charles Byrne 

Director General

Airmans Cross Service

Details of the service can be found here

British Palestine Police Association AGM

Following an appeal to Fi Hedges for a Standard Bearer to help with thier AGM in Swindon. This is from their Secretary, John Tyrrell: 

So what to do? Well an appeal for help went out and was answered by Dale Williams. Following his help Mike Williams sent this email:

Dear Dale
I can’t thank you enough for carrying our Standard on it’s first parade, made us very proud to see it there.
You are a great credit to the Royal British Legion, your appearance, bearing and drill were impeccable. Several people commented very favourably.
I am sorry I did not have the opportunity to say goodbye before you went off so please accept my sincerest thanks “for a job well Done”
Yours sincerely
Mike

Well done Dale and on behalf of Wiltshire County thanks for upholding the high standards of the Royal British Legion.

County Conference Minutes

The minutes from the Wiltshire RBL County Conference are now available for your perusal here.

There are a few photographs here of the conference and the prize presentations. If you attended and have pictures you would be happy to have on the site please contact Keith Passant

News Snippets

Rewards for Forces are offering discounted cinema tickets. See attached flyer

The Freedom Trail

 During WW2 there were many routes out of occupied Europe that were taken by Allied Servicemen. One of them was through the Pyrenees from France into Spain. This route is now a route for the adventurous amongst youto take and retrace the steps of those that did it during the war. A trip itinerary can be found here along with a couple of pictures. Details of how to join the trip are in the itinerary for the 2017 trips.

NHS Services Mental Health Strategy

In April this year the NHS announced the new services available to serving personnelabout to discharge from the Armed Forces and for Veterans. An NHS document is available to read by clicking this link.

 NI Investigations Stance

The National Chairman has sent a letter to all Chairmen stating the RBL stance on the NI investigations. That letter is available for you to see by following this link.

Battle’s End – The Last Day of the Somme – 18 November 2016

The Royal British Legion, in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, will mark the centenary of the final day of the Battle of the Somme with a Drumhead service at Thiepval Memorial, at 13.30hrs on Friday 18 November 2016. The event will bring to a close our stewardship over the previous 139 days of the daily wreath laying ceremonies, whilst re-affirming the Legion’s commitment, through the Somme Branch, to its enduring annual role at Thiepval.
The event will be ticket only. In recognition of their support, Members of the Royal British Legion have the opportunity to apply for tickets in advance of the general public. Tickets will be available to Members from midday on Monday 03 October. Members will have 5 working days to apply for tickets (2 per Member) before they also become available to the general public at 5pm on Friday 07 October 2016.
All tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Once all seats have been allocated, bookings will be closed. 

To apply for tickets, please complete the online form at the following link: www.britishlegion.org.uk/18November from midday on Monday 03 October 2016.

Information to assist with your application:

Due to the current security situation, all attendees are required to supply security accreditation information.* When completing the online form, you will need to have the following information to hand for yourself and your guest: Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Passport Number.

To enable us to manage arrivals and departures, please use the attached information sheet as a guide and indicate on your application how you intend to travel to and from the event. Attendees will need to fund their own costs of travel and any accommodation.

* N.B. This information will be used for security accreditation checks only. In line with data protection regulations, your details will not be used for any other purposes.

Somme 100 Commemorations

Somme 100 

The Battle of the Somme is synonymous with our memory of the First World War.  The infamous first day remains the bloodiest day in the British Army’s history, involving sixty-thousand casualties, twenty-thousand of whom were killed. 

Commemorations will be taking place between 30 June and 18 November to mark the centenary of the 141 days of the battle’s duration. 

More information and a different toolkit will be communicated separately for Somme 100 by mid-April.  The Somme 100 toolkit will be available both digitally and for order by post. 

We really hope that with this support you will be able to run an event that best suits your community. 

If you have any questions, please contact remembrance@britishlegion.org.uk. 

Commemorative pins can be obtained from our county fund raiser Fiona Dobson. Contact the Cottage for how to get hold of them 

Ron Clark, Secretary of East Knoyle Semley and Sedgehill branch sent in some photos of the Somme Memorial Service held in the village and they can be viewed here

Croix de Geurre Award for Ben Tottenham 

 I have received this note from Ben about his award.

I received my Legion d'Honneur medal on Monday 3rd October from the 
French Ambassador herself at the Residence.
The attached website has some very good pictures. I hope you can pick 
me out by my Belgian Croix de Guerre when thanking her in French!
Ben
My rank as a TA officer was Lieut Colonel. Commanding the 
Sharpshooters.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ambafruk/30073508186/in/album-72157671331793113/

There are many more photos on the site from the awards ceremony

NEW BOOK OUT NOW

A book has been published on the memoirs of a serving soldier of WWII.
Richard Isaac has put his fathers war time experiences down on paper and is selling the book "Behind Enemy Lines" with a portion of every sale going to the RBL. Arthur Isaac from Salisbury was a member of Wingates Chindits and saw service throughout Burma. The book looks like being a great read and as well as supporting the RBL it can only be good. Currently available from the Salisbury Branch of the RBL or you can contact Richard HERE for details on where to buy the book.