Royal British Legion's 90 years of service

As a result of the First World War, the country’s economy had plummeted.

There were two million unemployed.  More than six million men had served in the war – but 725,000 never returned.

And of those who came back, 1.75 million had suffered some kind of disability – half being permanently disabled.

Added to this were the widows and orphans, and often parents, who had relied on their sons financially.

In Oxfordshire, men of all ages had left families and jobs to travel overseas, most for the first time, to fight the enemy – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey’s Ottoman Empire.

The resulting death toll was catastrophic.

The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry alone lost 5,878 men.

The Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, also known as the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, lost 150.

And the Royal Berkshire Regiment, which drew many recruits from the Vale of White Horse and towns that today lie in south Oxfordshire, lost 6,688.

Many more suffered wounds that would affect them and their families for the rest of their lives.

Lance Bombardier Lister’s wish to help these families spawned an idea for a new organisation and The Royal British Legion (RBL) which was formed on May 15, 1921.

Its main purpose was straightforward: to care for those who had suffered as a result of theirs or a loved ones’ service in the war.

Ninety years on, warfare has changed, but its legacy is still as bitter.

Nearly 500 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to date.

Defence cuts, the economic crisis and disability mean many service personnel are returning to the same hardships their comrades faced 90 years ago.

Which is why, says RBL county manager Linda Flecknell, the Legion’s work is more important than ever: Mrs Flecknell said: “As we celebrate our history we face challenges too.

“Many young service leavers will be embarking on civilian life in the most difficult economic times in recent history.

“At the same time, the ageing Second World War generation’s need for help will also be at its peak.”

Oxfordshire RBL offers immediate help and support to families who have lost a loved one and are also funding projects to help service families across the county.

Recently it allocated a grant of £55,684 to RAF Brize Norton to refurbish two three-bedroom properties which will be used for families going through domestic crises such as divorce.

The Legion is perhaps best known for the Poppy Appeal, which funds a large slice of its welfare projects.

In 2008, Joanne Stansfield honoured her own fallen hero – her husband Sgt Mark Stansfield – by allowing the Royal British Legion to use hers and her son Jake’s faces as part of the Poppy Appeal.

Sgt Stansfield was killed in Iraq the day before he was due to head home.

Jake, now three, never met his father but was given his names Mark and Anthony, as his middle names.

Mrs Stansfield, who lives in Bicester, said she would have been lost without the support of the Royal British Legion after her husband was fatally injured in a forklift truck accident at Basra air station in September 2007.

She said: “I felt totally at a loss. But the RBL were there and offered all the help and advice I needed.”

Just a few streets away from Mrs Stansfield and her son lives Heather Wood, whose husband, Warrant Officer Class 2 Charlie Wood, was killed trying to clear a safe route for a foot patrol in Helmand last December.

Mrs Wood said: “The Royal British Legion offer so much support and kindness to so many people like myself and Joanne and I would encourage people to do as much as they can to support it, whether buying a poppy, or fundraising for them.

“Next April I will be running the London Marathon for them and it makes me very proud.”

A large chunk of the money funding the RBL’s work comes from Oxfordshire’s RBL branches – 50 in Oxfordshire with 3,800 members, and 14 in the Vale of the White Horse with 1,500 members.

These people, says Linda Flecknell, are the real driving force behind the RBL.

But many branches face their own battles – older members are being lost and not replaced by younger servicemen.

Watlington RBL however, has proven to be a force to be reckoned with – and it all came after two of its longest serving members received a ‘call to arms’ from the late General Sir John Mogg, RBL Member Ken Cook, now 87, from Watlington, recalls: “I was in the village pub one night in 1967 with the village butcher, Cyril ‘Jack’ Frost, when the General (formerly of the Royal Ox Bucks Light Infantry and at that time Commandant of the Royal Green Jackets) came in and approached us.

“He asked what we were up to and then said we were needed at the Royal Legion around the corner where they were having a meeting. We of course followed him.

“It turned out the club was in crisis. Membership was at an all- time low. When we walked out of there that night I was the new chairman, Jack was the president and we were unknowingly starting a new era for Watlington Royal British Legion.”

Mr Cook spent three years of the Second World War on motor gun boats and launches patrolling for U boats and clearing mines in the Mediterranean, and counts himself as “one of the lucky ones” to have returned safely to his home town.

After his surprise ‘conscription’ into the Royal British Legion he went on to serve for seven years as chairman, seeing the branch membership rise to 247.

Mr Cook said: “We never quite reached the magic 250 but we are thrilled to say that our numbers are still at 242 and our poppy collection total has risen every year for the last 35 years.”

Watlington RBL has raised tens of thousands of pounds which has been ploughed back into the Legion’s work locally and nationally.

Mr Cook continued: “The RBL might have an image of a bunch of old boys enjoying a cheap pint, but I think people are becoming wiser to what we do.

“For me personally, it became a huge part of my life that night in the pub in 1967. I’ve put my life and soul into it. And I know myself and my fellow members are very proud to be part of such a long-standing and hard working organisation.”

The branch will hold its annual fete on Bank Holiday Monday, August 29, in the garden of 27 Church Close, starting at 2pm.All are welcome.

dwaite@oxfordmail.co.ukJake, now three, never met his father but was given his names Mark and Anthony, as his middle names.

Mrs Stansfield, who lives in Bicester, said she would have been lost without the support of the Royal British Legion after her husband was fatally injured in a forklift truck accident at Basra air station in September 2007.

She said: “I felt totally at a loss. But the RBL were there and offered all the help and advice I needed.”

Just a few streets away from Mrs Stansfield and her son lives Heather Wood, whose husband, Warrant Officer Class 2 Charlie Wood, was killed trying to clear a safe route for a foot patrol in Helmand last December.

Mrs Wood said: “The Royal British Legion offer so much support and kindness to so many people like myself and Joanne and I would encourage people to do as much as they can to support it, whether buying a poppy, or fundraising for them.

“Next April I will be running the London Marathon for them and it makes me very proud.”

A large chunk of the money funding the RBL’s work comes from Oxfordshire’s RBL branches – 50 in Oxfordshire with 3,800 members, and 14 in the Vale of the White Horse with 1,500 members.

These people, says Linda Flecknell, are the real driving force behind the RBL.

But many branches face their own battles – older members are being lost and not replaced by younger servicemen.

Watlington RBL however, has proven to be a force to be reckoned with – and it all came after two of its longest serving members received a ‘call to arms’ from the late General Sir John Mogg, RBL Member Ken Cook, now 87, from Watlington, recalls: “I was in the village pub one night in 1967 with the village butcher, Cyril ‘Jack’ Frost, when the General (formerly of the Royal Ox Bucks Light Infantry and at that time Commandant of the Royal Green Jackets) came in and approached us.

“He asked what we were up to and then said we were needed at the Royal Legion around the corner where they were having a meeting. We of course followed him.

“It turned out the club was in crisis. Membership was at an all- time low. When we walked out of there that night I was the new chairman, Jack was the president and we were unknowingly starting a new era for Watlington Royal British Legion.”

Mr Cook spent three years of the Second World War on motor gun boats and launches patrolling for U boats and clearing mines in the Mediterranean, and counts himself as “one of the lucky ones” to have returned safely to his home town.

After his surprise ‘conscription’ into the Royal British Legion he went on to serve for seven years as chairman, seeing the branch membership rise to 247.

Mr Cook said: “We never quite reached the magic 250 but we are thrilled to say that our numbers are still at 242 and our poppy collection total has risen every year for the last 35 years.”

Watlington RBL has raised tens of thousands of pounds which has been ploughed back into the Legion’s work locally and nationally.

Mr Cook continued: “The RBL might have an image of a bunch of old boys enjoying a cheap pint, but I think people are becoming wiser to what we do.

“For me personally, it became a huge part of my life that night in the pub in 1967. I’ve put my life and soul into it. And I know myself and my fellow members are very proud to be part of such a long-standing and hard-working organisation.”

The branch will hold its annual fete on Bank Holiday Monday, August 29, in the garden of 27 Church Close, starting at 2pm.

All are welcome.