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Wreaths of artificial poppies used on Remembrance Day

A paper poppy, worn in the United Kingdom from late October to 11 November in support of the British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

The Royal British Legion is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.

The British Legion was founded in 1921 as a voice for the ex-Service community as a merger of four organisations: the Comrades of the Great War, the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers, the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers and the Officers' Association. It was granted the "Royal" prefix on 29 May 1971 to mark its fiftieth anniversary.^[1]

Perhaps known best for the annual Poppy Appeal and Remembrance services, the Legion was born as a campaigning organisation and has been active behind the scenes in promoting the welfare and interests of the Services and ex-Service community for 86 years.

The Legion fight nearly 36,000 ongoing War Disablement Pension cases for war veterans and make around 300,000 welfare and friendship visits every year.

Ongoing Legion campaigns include calls for more research into: Gulf Illness and compensation for its victims; upgrading of War Pensions; the extension of endowment mortgage compensation for personnel serving overseas; and better support for Service personnel resettling into civilian life. In 2007 the Legion launched the Honour the Covenant Campaign urging the Government to honour the Military Covenant.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair wearing a Red Poppy.

The charity organises a fund-raising drive each year during which artificial poppies, meant to be worn on clothing, are offered to the public in return for a donation. Over the course of the preceding year disabled people are employed making the poppies. The idea of poppies dates back to the poem In Flanders' Fields about the First World War, after which the Legion was founded. The idea is that the poppies are worn from November to Remembrance Day to remember the fallen of the First World War, and implicitly the dead of other wars.

The Poppy Appeal has without doubt a higher profile than any other charity appeal in the UK, with the poppies ubiquitous from late October until mid-November every year and worn by the general public, politicians and other public figures and television presenters. However, some have criticised the level of compulsion associated with the custom. ^{[2] [3]}

In Scotland, Poppy Scotland run the poppy appeal in association with The Royal British Legion Scotland.

Since 1933, there has been a White Poppy run by the Peace Pledge Union which is seen as an alternative by anti-war activists.

The Legion organises the Festival of Remembrance on the Saturday preceding Remembrance Sunday. The Festival, held in the Royal Albert Hall, London, has acquired a status approaching that of a "State" event such as Trooping the Colour. Originally featuring composer John Foulds's World Requiem (to be revived in 2007), it includes military displays by current members of the armed forces, choral performances, and prayers. It culminates with the parading of Legion branch banners down the aisles and onto the floor of the hall, and the release of poppy petals from the roof.

The event is run twice; the first, afternoon, event is open to any member of the public. The evening event is the more prestigious; tickets are only available to members of the Legion and their families, and senior members of the Royal Family (The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward amongst other less well-known royals) are in attendance. In 2007, the second half of the evening event was aired live on BBC Radio Two^[4]. BBC One showed the event an hour later .

Most parts of the Festival are of a formal and solemn nature. In recent years, lighter sketches have been included, for example depicting civilian life during wartime, in an attempt to attract viewers from generations born after the Second World War.

‘Honour the Covenant’ is a campaign launched by the Royal British Legion in September 2007, which calls on the Government to honour the Military Covenant. The campaign aims to seek public support for the issues identified by the Legion and to encourage their MPs to act to ensure that Government policy is changed.

Campaign Overview

A career in the Armed Forces differs from all others. Service personnel agree to sacrifice certain civil liberties and to follow orders; including orders to place themselves in harm’s way in the defence of others. In return, the Nation promises to help and support people in the Armed Forces and their families when they need it most. This mutual promise is enshrined in the Military Covenant, which is acknowledged by all Services.

The Military Covenant does not have the force of law, but has been enshrined through convention, custom and contemporary application, and it represents the Nation’s moral commitment to its Armed Forces.

While the Legion acknowledges that significant efforts have been made in recent years, they believe that certain aspects of the Military Covenant are not being delivered and that the Nation must now bring about change to ensure that our Service people and their families get the support they deserve.

The Legion believes:

1. There should be a just compensation scheme which recognises the commitment and sacrifices made when serving the Nation.

The Government should: • Substantially increase the value of awards made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. • Recognise that Armed Forces personnel should not have to fight the State to prove that their injury or illness was due to Service – the State should shoulder the burden of proof. • Recognise that valid claims for compensation can arise long after injury or illness and so dispense with its five and 10 years cut-off dates for making claims.

2. There should be a greater commitment to support the physical and mental health of Service people and their families.

For Armed Forces personnel, the Government should: • Ensure that GPs and other NHS staff can access the medical histories of personnel who have been medically discharged. • Meet the cost of accommodating the families of injured Service personnel. • Extend in-depth health surveillance to all Service personnel – and offer voluntary health monitoring for Service families of personnel on active deployment.

For Veterans, the Government should: • Ensure there is immediate access to healthcare for War Pensioners making priority treatment work not just in theory but in reality. • Identify the number of veterans who are eligible for priority treatment and provide the resources needed to deliver it. • Urgently increase the provision of mental health services for veterans, and deliver priority treatment in this area.

3. There should be more support for bereaved Service families.

The Government should: • Provide additional resources to coroners experienced in conducting military inquests in order to clear the backlog of Service inquests and to enable the establishment of a “centre of excellence“. • At public expense, provide Service families with legal advice, representation and advocacy during inquests. • Appoint an independent commissioner to investigate complaints relating to in-Service deaths.

There are over 50 Legion bands around the country, each run and funded independently. They include full concert show bands, brass ensembles, pipe and drum bands, marching carnival bands and youth bands.

The Central Band of the Royal British Legion is the Legion's flagship band. In existence since 1944, the band was recognised as the Legion's premier band in 1983 and gained its title of The Central Band of the Royal British Legion three years later.

The Royal British Legion also has an extensive network of Social Clubs throughout the country; sometimes these are known as United Services or Ex-Servicemens Clubs.

• Remembrance Day
• British Army
• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy
• Royal Canadian Legion
• Returned & Services League of Australia
• Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association
• Veterans of Foreign Wars

• Official website for The Royal British Legion
• Official website for The Royal British Legion Scotland
• Poppy Appeal - official website
• The Earl Haig Fund Scotland - Poppy Scotland
• Remembrance blog for The Royal British Legion
• The Royal British Legion Fundraising Webshop
• The British War Memorial Project - official Website
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - official Website
• The Central Band Of The Royal British Legion - official Website
• The Royal British Legion in North Staffordshire
• The Scottish National Institution for the War Blinded