Remembrance Assembly 2025

We have developed a wide range of resources to bring Remembrance to life for young people, including a digital learning event – the Remembrance Assembly – to help students discover stories of service.

Hosted in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, it will be streamed on Tuesday 11th November. Featuring music, poetry and veteran interviews, it’s ideal for schools, youth groups, and families.

RBL's political neutrality

As we’re now in the Remembrance period, we would like to reaffirm RBL’s position as a non-partisan organisation and therefore the importance of our neutrality.   

As there can be a tendency for people to incorrectly connect the RBL with a particular activity or political view, please familiarise yourself with our statement about political neutrality.

RBL supported charity 

wins national award

Our partnerships allow us to deliver much needed support to beneficiaries. Veterans with Dogs – an organisation recently supported by RBL’s Devon County with a grant – has won the Third Sector Small Charity of the Year Award. The charity helps current and former members of the Armed Forces manage service-related mental health conditions by pairing them with specially trained assistance dogs.

If your County or Branch would like to support a local project that assists the Armed Forces community, contact [email protected] and a member of the Grants team will walk you through the process.

We need your help to

Keep the Covenant Promise 

We’ve launched a new report and Open Letter to the Prime Minister calling for a stronger Covenant Duty as part of our Keep the Covenant Promise campaign.  

We welcome the Government’s commitment to bring the Covenant “fully into law” and its promise to extend the Covenant Duty across all public policy and levels of government, through the Armed Forces Bill in 2026.

We need your help to make sure the Government delivers the Covenant Duty consistently, backed by enough funding, and is properly measured so that it leads to meaningful and lasting change.

Over 2,200 people have already signed our Open Letter — but we can’t stop there.

Opportunity to get involved

 in LGBTQ+ research

King’s College London’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) is running a PhD project on the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ UK personnel post-ban. To support this research, they’re looking for LGBTQ+ serving and ex-serving personnel who joined and served in the UK Armed Forces after the ban on LGBTQ+ personnel was lifted in 2000. They’ll give you a £20 Amazon voucher for your time. If you're interested in taking part, email Sarah Rabin.

Recognition for 

outstanding work

We’re celebrating the achievements of finalists and winners at the English Veterans Awards and the LGBTQ+ Defence Awards.

There was a high calibre of competition at the English Veterans Awards, with many RBL people nominated for awards. RBL won Employer of the Year, RBL Staffordshire Chair Anthony Frith was recognised as Military Charity Fundraiser of the Year, Dorset Poppy Appeal Manager Tasha Randall won silver Reservist of the Year, and there were two Lifetime Achievement award successes for RBL volunteers – Jeff Williams (gold) and Patricia Prior (bronze). 

Kate Holvey-Williams won Veteran of the Year at the first ever LGBTQ+ Defence Awards. Kate is RBL’s Head of Armed Forces Engagement and has spent almost 25 years working tirelessly to improve the lives of serving and veteran personnel, with a particular focus on the LGBTQIA+ community.

Sir Clive Johnstone award – nominations now open

Launched in memory of Sir Clive Johnstone (RBL National President May 2023-May 2024), this award celebrates unity – recognising those who seek to create, repair or improve it. It is open to individuals, groups or teams, and we’re inviting nominations from members, volunteers, and colleagues.  

If you know someone (or a team of people) who champions unity in our community, submit your nomination by 5pm on Friday 13th February 2026. The winner will be announced at Annual Conference in May 2026.

Can you help shape 

RBL's leadership?

If you’re keen to play a role in leadership, why not get involved in our next round of elections? We have four Trustee roles and seven Membership Council roles available.

If you’re interested, you’ll need to be nominated for a role and attend an assessment panel before being progressed to the voting stage. Successful candidates will take up their positions in May 2026.

RBL runs a robust and comprehensive election process to ensure there is transparency, fairness, and integrity. If you have any questions about the roles or the election process visit our website or email [email protected]  

Extra RBL Strategy roadshow 

-17th November 2025

Members will play a vital role in helping us deliver our new strategy. We hosted three virtual roadshows in October to help members understand our strategy and we’ve added another date - Monday 17th November, 6.30pm-8pm.

You can submit questions in advance of the roadshow. Join the session on Microsoft Teams.

Annual Conference, 

Brighton 2026

Our biggest membership event of the year returns in 2026. Annual Conference will take place from 8th-10th May 2026 at the Brighton Centre. Connect with friends old and new, hear keynote speakers, join the debate, vote on Motions, and enjoy celebrations, ceremony, and entertainment. Watch the action from 2025 in our highlights video.

Stories of resilience and strength

Each year, we create inspiring content for the Black History Month (BHM) magazine and website, highlighting the crucial contribution of Black personnel in our Armed Forces. Supporting this year’s theme of Standing Firm in Power and Pride, we've shared stories of currently serving personnel and veterans who’ve forged their own paths in service.

Autumn Legion magazine 

available online

This issue covers our 2025 Poppy Appeal and Remembrance activities. We also highlighted the contributions of communities that don’t always receive the recognition they deserve, including the cover story about sculptor Mahtab Hussain who partnered with RBL to showcase his bronze statue honouring the British Indian Army. In addition, RBL Director General Mark Atkinson reflects on his time in post and explains the new strategy and how members are integral to our success.