THE LEGION'S DISEASE?

The latest edition of the St. James Branch Magazine of The Royal British Legion (Of which I am a member) dropped on my mat a few days ago. The Leader makes sober reading but reflects my concerns that the Legion has lost its way and badly needs  itself back into the public eye. 

The Legion's image is dated. Chelsea Pensioners still parade around in uniforms that reflect a bygone age. The general public eye them with affection and, if old enough, with nostalgia but the memory of World Wars l and ll is rapidly fading.

Thought today is more of the losses and injuries of more recent campaigns.  Perhaps it is time to ditch the old fashioned gear and bring in uniforms, ceremonial and everyday wear, more in keeping with today's military attire? The ceremonial occasions can still be remembered but with a more modern theme. It's time to move on. Drastic(?) of course it is but there is a need to start with a clean sheet of paper. Many of the old features should be retained and remembered with pride but examined in the cold light of today, not yesterday, to judge their rôle in today's world. Maybe a tweak or two here and there though can make all the difference. 

What the Organisation looks for is survival. The Charity  needs to improve its financial position year on year to maintain the services already so necessary and to expand them in other directions as the changing world makes fresh demands upon the RBL. Part of the damage, unwittingly, has come from the creation of Help For Heroes and The Battle Back Centre that is all about today. More problems too seem to come from an on-going war of attrition between some branches and the hierarchy that appears to be a running sore. This must be causing some constraints? 

I am a relatively new member of the Legion, the cause for that lies with past history of some branches in areas where I have lived that, on inspection, were more drinking clubs than charitable organizations and did not enjoy a good reputation locally. Times have and still change for the better. My local branch, for example,  has reinvented itself several times over the past few years but now seems to have settled down. Nevertheless, I joined the London St James Branch which, as and when I return to the UK, will be able to supply the necessary information to re-establish myself within the UK without encumbering them with the need for practical support in terms of accommodation or finance. It also permits me now the facility to  make occasional small donations. And yes, those occasional donations I make are to ''Help for Heroes and not the general fund. I rest my case.

A further example of its tendency to live in the past can be found in its Magazine. Let me give you an example.  The more recent experiences from World War ll are still with us; although today's school children are taught little of recent past history. 68 years on fewer and fewer still live to remember those experiences. But of my Father, Uncles and Aunts who served in the War, in whatever capacity, none spoke of their experiences. Nor did my friends who served in Korea and Malaysia fighting the Communists. Yet you read the Legion magazine today and you find seven pages devoted to wartime experiences from 'Badge of Honour' Veterans. Yet their 'experiences' are drowned by the silence of all the others who kept their trauma away as best they could from their family and friends. Trauma for many that affected them for the rest of their lives. This is not to say that there should not be a reminder. I suggest a better way would be to cover the expansion in the quality of services and accommodation for the present older veterans that will also be there for their future occupants. 

The magazine devotes too many pages to the distant past. Its advertisements are dated. They do not reflect modern styling in advertising copy or illustration and pack little or no impact. Their layout and general presentation are, frankly, outmoded. You want a magazine that demands to be read not picked up, idly flicked through and cast aside.    

What do I look for? A Legion that, whilst respecting our past, has a modern image reflected in their concentration on the modern life and not on old stagnant models that do not reflect the day to day conditions that demand the more specialist support for those in today's world.

Yes we keep the Chelsea Hospital, the Homes scattered around the country of which we need many more. Yes we need all the other services that form such an important support to our military after their service is completed. But the present public eye is on the soldiers of today and not so much yesterday. Yes, they expect the latter to be looked after as before, rightly so. But, as I mentioned above, they are looked at with affectionate amusement in their old uniforms rather than as a need to be nourished. Perhaps the time has come to gradually phase out the traditional tunics? The Public put their money where THEY see the need today. Hence the unqualified support for Help For Heroes. This is perceived today as the charity for veterans and it is not thought of as a part of the Royal British Legion.

I understand the RBL missed its Poppy Target last year for the first time. Perhaps that's why? There is a need to be more aware of the publics' perceived vision of the Legion today. 

'Help For Heroes' needs to be seen as an integral part of The Royal British Legion; similarly The Battle Back Centre that pays such a vital rôle in rehabilitation. I wonder how many of the General Public are aware of the latter's existence and the sterling work it carries out? These two sections need to be seen, publicised and trumpeted from the housetops as mainstream services of the RBL.

And, what moves are being made for the future accommodation of today's military disabled with their horrendous disabilities of multiple limb loss when they reach their autumn years in The Royal Hospital, Chelsea? I know that much has been done in recent times to update the accommodation there and improve medical recuperative attention but how much of this is known by the General Public and its pertinence to the modern army? How many know of the existence of the new 'Battle  Back Centre' for the treatment of veterans from the continuing trauma experienced in modern warfare as well as the many in campaigns that went before? I have seen little information targeted towards the man in the street. 

Finally, may I suggest a revamp of the banner headings - and the Legion Badge - to bring these points more to the public eye? For example: Put a banner scroll across the middle of the badge over the lion that says: HELP FOR HEROES which, more than anything else, explains what the lower scroll: THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION is all about. Today is the 11 October 2013. There is one month to start, small though it may be, in making a difference and ensure that the Poppy Target is never missed again

We need the Royal British Legion today as much  as before. But let it have a new lease of life by sitting facing the engine rather than looking back to the end of the train.