The Royal British Legion 2014 General Presentation – Speaker notes.
Slide 1
Welcome the audience to the presentation, explain who you are and why you are speaking to them today. Keep the tone light and appropriate for your audience, and avoid overuse of jargon and acronyms.
Slide 2
The Legion helps serving members of the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force, Reservists and veterans, as well as their families, all year round.
In addition to direct help, we campaign to improve their lives, remember the fallen and organise the annual Poppy Appeal.
Slide 3
The Legion’s work falls into 4 main ‘pillars’. We provide life-long help and support for the whole Armed Forces community.
We work with politicians to improve the lives of that community and we have been involved in many campaigns on a range of issues the affect them.
We are one of the UK’s largest membership organisations with over 320,000 members.
We’re also the nation’s custodian of Remembrance and will be involved with many events during the First World War commemorations.
Slide 4
There are now three ways to get in contact with us.
Our website – - has thousands of pages of information.
Our dedicated call centre – 0808 802 8080 is open 7 days a week, from 8am to 8pm for all enquiries about the Legion.
We are also opening 16 Area Offices in town and city centres across the country by the end of 2014.
Regardless of how people get in touch with us they will always receive consistent information as all of these methods have the same resources.
Slide 5
We spend £10,000 every hour of every day in support of those who need us, this is equivalent to £240,000 per day or £1.6 million per week. These next few slides will give you a snapshot of how this money helps.
We have helped people access £49 million in benefits, war pensions and Armed Forces Compensation
We provide housing and financial assistance to those most in need, keeping them off the streets and helping them cope with debt problems.
Slide 6
We’ve arranged seaside holidays for thousands of Armed Forces families and adventure breaks for Service children.
We also organise weeks away for older veterans when they’ve needed a break.
4 of our Care Homes have dementia care units and we also run the Admiral Nurse service in conjunction with Dementia UK in the West Midlands and Lancashire which gives help and practical advice to families and carers of people with dementia.
Slide 7
The Legion has an ongoing commitment to the Defence Recovery Capability and these projects are just two of the ways we fulfil it.
The Battle Back Centre in Lilleshall, Shropshire, provides adaptive sports and adventurous training activities for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel. The Centre is focussed on rebuilding confidence, ability and self-motivation to enable Service men and women either return to duty or learn new skills to aid their transition to civilian life.
The Royal British Legion Blast Injury Studies Centre at imperial College was officially open by Prince Harry in October 2013. It is a joint project between the Legion and the College to carry out research into the effects of blast injuries caused by roadside bombs and other IEDs. The Centre aims to develop ways of reducing blast injuries as well as develop improved treatments for those that have suffered them.
We have 6 care homes in England and Northern Ireland that are exclusive to the ex-Service community, giving them a unique camaraderie.
Slide 8
This is Felix Agbotsu. He’s a former Royal Artillery Gunner and he was en-route to take part in a charity event in 2004 when he was involved in a car crash that fractured his spine and left him paralysed from the neck down. As part of his recovery Felix spent 18-months as an in-patient at one of our care homes, Lister House.
Since Felix left Lister House, we have funded adaptations to his mobility vehicle, without which Felix would have been housebound. We have also helped him with specialist mobility equipment, including a bed hoist.
Slide 9
The Legion holds regular awareness-raising events in Parliament that give beneficiaries the chance to speak to their local representatives about their experiences post-Service and the support they have received from us.
Our 2015 General Election Manifesto is aimed at politicians and prospective candidates and will outline the key actions we would like the next Government to take to improve the welfare of serving personnel and the families. We will be launching the official document at the party conferences in September and October.
Slide 10
The Legion is a strong campaigning voice for the whole Armed Forces family, working tirelessly to lobby politicians and other policymakers to ensure those who are serving or have served, and their families receive the best possible care from the government.
The Military Covenant, the nation’s pledge to uphold a duty of care to the Armed Forces community, was enshrined in law in 2011. Since then we have been working hard to get local authorities to sign up to Community Covenants, a pledge to enact the Military Covenant at a local level. By the end of 2013 every local authority in Wales and Scotland had signed a Community Covenant, and 95% of councils in England.
Slide 11
The Legion has over 320,000 members and 2,500 branches many of whom help organise the Poppy Appeal every year, as well as bringing the good work of the Legion to their local community.
Our social media presence is growing all the time, our Facebook page, Maximum Respect for the British Armed Forces, has over 2 million friends and our Twitter account @PoppyLegion
Slide 12
We’ve introduced two new types of membership recently. All currently Serving personnel can get free membership to the Legion. All they need to do fill in the form on our website. We also offer a year’s free membership to everyone who has recently left the Armed Forces. Again, they just need to fill in their details online and 12 months’ free membership will begin on their first day on civvy street.
Slide 13
As the nation’s custodian of Remembrance the Legion is responsible for national observances such as the Festival of Remembrance, held every year at The Royal Albert Hall, and the veterans’ march past at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire is part of the Legion’s family of charities and each year around 300,000 people visit this site of reflection and Remembrance. It is home to the Armed Forces Memorial, a stunning tribute to every Service man and woman killed on duty since the end of the Second World War.
We also hold Silence in the Square in Trafalgar Square on Armistice Day. Thousands of people attend the moving programme of music and poetry before Central London comes to a standstill at 11am for the two minute silence.
Slide 14
The Legion will be joining the nation in respecting the sacrifices of the First World War. We are also developing a meaningful and appropriate range of Centenary events, partnerships and projects. These include the Centenary Poppy Campaign which aims to get the whole country awash with red poppies, Lights Out which will mark the moment Britain declared war on Germany and Every Man Remembered; a website where you can commemorate one of the Service men or women killed during, or as a result of the First World War.
Slide 15
Thousands of people across the country raise millions of pounds for us each year taking part in sporting events such as the London Marathon, our London to Paris bike ride Pedal to Paris or extreme challenges such as the Exmoor 30:30 or Freedom Trail.
Many more help secure the future for Service people and veterans alike by leaving us a legacy, or gift, in their will.
Slide 16
Every year the nation comes out in force to support the Poppy Appeal during October and November. The 2014 launch moving day-long event at the Cenotaph in London where Service personnel, veterans and family members paid their respects in a re-enactment of the watch kept over the body of the Unknown Warrior
London Poppy Day is a well-established part of the Appeal, increasing its fundraising total every year, and this time the 2000 uniformed and civilian collectors that flooded the streets and stations of London raised a staggering £1.25 million in a single day!
Inspired by success in the capital the ‘Poppy Day’ theme was rolled out across England and Wales with events taking place in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Plymouth to name a few.
The Appeal is our biggest fundraising campaign and runs year round. Lapel poppies are available to buy from street collectors, in shops, supermarkets, pubs and clubs from the last week in October until November 11th, or Remembrance Sunday, whichever is later in the year.
Slide 17
Pete Dunning served with the Royal Marine Commandos. In May 2008, at the age of 22, he was hit by an IED explosion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and lost both his legs.
We helped Pete during his rehabilitation, installing a wet room and making adaptions to his home to make day-to-day life easier. Pete is a proud supporter of the Legion as a volunteer for the Poppy Appeal and has collected thousands of pounds across his hometown.
Slide 18
We couldn’t carry out all the good work that we do without the help of people like you. Whether it’s collecting on the streets during Poppy Appeal, or volunteering as a caseworker, you can make a real difference to the lives of thousands of members of the Armed Forces family.
For more information visit our website –
Slide 19
Thank you for your time. Do you have any questions?