THE CENTENARY of the Royal British Legion (RBL) has been marked at Hillmorton War Memorial.
Members of the RBL’s Hillmorton Branch gathered at the memorial for a short act of commemoration led by Rev Margaret Simmons on Saturday (May 15).
Branch President Larry Burke and Branch chairman Kathryn Lawrence laid a wreath to commemorate the laying of the first wreath 100 years ago, an event in which branches throughout the country participated.
The anniversary marked 100 years since ex-Servicemen walked to the Cenotaph war memorial in London’s Whitehall, when four men representing societies that for three years had been rivals laid a wreath featuring the badges of the four organisations that would officially amalgamate to form the British Legion.
By Christmas of 1921 the RBL had grown to 2,500 branches across the country and overseas. They fundraised during the Poppy Appeal, provided welfare locally and became the foundations for what has become the UK’s largest Armed Forces charity.
