LegionLive

Given the huge popularity of our Pedal to Paris ride over recent years, we have decided to bring back an old favourite - Bike to Brussels.

Described as a little gentler and flatter than P2P, Bike to Brussels is an ideal option for those who have wanted to participate in P2P but been daunted by the gruelling 460km ride.

Bike to Brussels starts with a train ride to Calais, and then 200km of glorious countryside to cycle through before arriving in Brussels 3 days later.

The first night in Belgium is spent in Ieper, where there is an opportunity to take a tour of the battlefields and cemeteries of WWI. That evening everyone on the ride will participate in the moving Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate memorial.

All our bike rides are organised by a dedicated Legion team, who research every detail to make your ride as enjoyable as possible. The cost of the ride is £450 and then we ask for £500 sponsorship.

For more information on Bike to Brussels visit: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/support-us/poppybike 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sergeant James Shimmins with his wife and daughter

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is working on an initiative to collect material relating to the war in Afghanistan. Their goal is to provide a unique and accurate record of Operation Herrick from the perspective of British Service Personnel and their families. 

The current exhibition ‘War Story: Serving in Afghanistan’ is an interactive display that showcases personal artefacts, videos and photographs that have been collected since the war in Afghanistan began. It allows us to discover the compelling stories from the front line and to try and understand the challenges and extreme conditions being faced in Afghanistan.

There is also a current display of over 40 portrait photographs of the service personnel who have been involved in the project; taken by the IWM Photographer Richard Ash.

Sergeant James Shimmins, 3^rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (pictured) donated a piece of shrapnel that was pulled out of his kit after a rocket attack in Sangin.

Admission is completely free and it’s the first time most of the materials have been on public display. I highly recommend a visit!

 

Are you a regular online shopper? If so you can now donate to the Legion just by shopping online as you normally would.

‘Give as you Live’ is a simple way to donate and there is no extra cost to you as the shopper or the Legion. Amazon, Sainsbury’s, iTunes and John Lewis are just a few of the thousands of online retailers who will donate a percentage of each purchase made through ‘Give as you Live’ and, on average, 2.5% of each purchase will be donated.

So how does it work?

All you need to do is register with ‘Give as you live at www.giveasyoulive.com/royalbritishlegion, download the software and then shop as you normally would. Once you’ve don’t this your computer will remember you’ve signed up and a donation will be made to the Legion each time you shop at one of the partner websites.

It couldn’t be simpler. Happy shopping!

Royal British Legion's Jan Bamber and Alan Brockbank with Inspector Zoe Finn, Peter Shefford, and Adrienne Wakeling

Today I want to share with you the story of Peter Shefford, an ex-serviceman who is turning his life around thanks to a new programme being run by the Legion and Suffolk Police.

Peter served with the Army in Bosnia and Northern Ireland before leaving in 2000 after his the death of his parents. He fell into a life of drinking  and eventually found himself homeless and in a repeat pattern of offending. Luckily for Peter, an RBL volunteer, who worked as a detention officer at Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, identified him as a suitable candidate for the pilot scheme.

Peter was offered assistance with finding a new home and was put in contact with other charities that help with post-traumatic stress disorder and drinking problems. Peter now has a positive focus and has enrolled in a tree surgery course and is evening running his own gardening business in Haverhill.

 Peter said; “I realised that I was no longer on my own and that there were people out there who may not be able to understand what you’ve been through, but are more than willing to help you.”

In the past six months, six detainees have been referred to the scheme for help and the programme has been so successful at Bury St Edmunds, it is also being rolled out at the Martlesham Police Investigation Centre this month.

Captain Mark Gregory with Elizabeth Hughes and RBL Chairman Alan Higbee

What better way to brighten up a gloomy Monday morning than with a great story out of Catterick about champion Legion fundraiser Captain Mark Gregory.

Captain Gregory has raised £300 for The Royal British Legion by running over 200 miles dressed in full combat gear and carrying a 50lb load! He was helped by fiancée Helen, who added to the total by baking and selling cupcakes.

Captain Gregory said; “I chose to fundraise for the Legion because of the support they provide to all three services but I also selected the Legion because of the lobbying work it carries out for Service and Ex-Service men and women and their families. I wanted the money I had raised to go to an organisation that supported the wider Armed Forces effort which indeed the Legion does.”

Elizabeth Hughes, community fundraiser for The Royal British Legion in North and East Yorkshire applauded Captain Gregory’s efforts.

She said: “We are extremely grateful to Captain Gregory for his marathon fundraising efforts. He has definitely gone the extra mile for the Legion, managing to find time for training runs and fundraising despite being busily involved in his preparations for deployment to Afghanistan.

“The funds he has donated will go straight towards helping our Armed Forces family- including today’s Afghan generation - today and for the rest of their lives.”

Captain Gregory will be leaving the UK later this month for his first tour of Afghanistan and we wish all the very best and hope to see him back home safe!

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, described on www.hmd.org.uk , the official Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website, as ‘an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future.’

The following passage is taken from the Holocaust section of the Legion’s Learning pack which can be accessed in full here: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/schools-and-learning/learning-pack

On 15 April 1945, British Forces liberated a concentration camp in Germany called Bergen-Belsen. The scenes there were terrible - British Forces found 60,000 people in the camp, as well as 13,000 unburied corpses. Despite medical attention, nearly 14,000 of those liberated died in the following three months. The arriving British Forces included men who had fought in battles across North Africa and Western Europe but many found the scenes at the camp far worse than any battle they had experienced. Bergen- Belsen, along with the other camps, became a symbol of what humans can do as a result of ideology and hatred. 

The Holocaust Remembrance Day Trust stress that today is not simply about remembering the past but also looking forward and recognising that discrimination in any form should be prevented.

For more information on the work of the Holocaust Remembrance Day Trust visit their website www.hmd.org.uk

The latest issue of Legion Magazine in out now and will landing on the doormats of all our members in the coming days.

If you’re not a member however you can still keep up to date with all the latest Legion news and read all the great articles in the online version of the publication.

Available to read in full here: http://www.legion-magazine.co.uk/ this issue features members of the TA on the cover. Find out inside what they thought of the Legion as we joined them as part of their pre-deployment training.

Other leading articles in this issue include features on the PJM medal; the Legion’s working relationship with Combat Stress and fundraisers taking part in the gruelling Exmoor 30:30 event.

In addition to this are all the regular favourites’ Attenshun, My Legion Life and Lost Trails.

Great news - the Legion has been shortlisted for Poundland’s charity of the year! But for us to win it we urgently need the help of our loyal supporters.

Each year Poundland selects one charity from a shortlist that it then supports for a whole year. This support is shown in a number of ways, fundraisers, in-store events and cash donations. As well as this the winning charity will gain the rights to sell some of its charity merchandise in Poundland’s 300+ outlets.

If we’re successful the partnership could raise around £100,000 during the year to go towards our vital welfare work.

So how can you help?

•  Vote for the Legion at www.poundland.co.uk/charity  
• Share the link to friends and family and get them to vote too

Voting closes on Monday 30 January - your vote can really make a difference.

 

With the London Marathon only a few months away our runners are all stepping up their training. Today Polly Rogerson tells us how her training is going.

　

I’m Polly Rogerson, from Wandsworth. A couple of years ago I took up running in a bid to loose and weight and get fit.  This year I’ve set myself the challenge to run the London Marathon: I ran the Marathon Du Medoc two years ago but getting to run the iconic London Marathon is going to be very different, they’ll be no wine stops I’ve heard!　

Training wise, I’m running part of my commute to and from work, which saves on the train fare! But I also go the British Military Fitness a couple of times a week, which mixes the training up a bit, plus the ‘long runs’ round Richmond Park at the weekends. Helping me get through this is the knowledge that I’m raising money for a fabulous charity, and if I can raise £2000 I may feel inspired to run faster! Having collected for Poppies over the years, it was obvious that if I was putting myself through this, the British Legion would be the charity to run for. I have a number of friends either serving or ex services, and as I much as I hope that none of them will need to call upon the Legions services, if they do, I know I’ll have helped to make sure they get the support they deserve.

After weeks of hard work by the guys and girls of Bravo 22 Company ‘The Two Worlds of Charlie F’, the play written out of their experiences in the military, was performed on the West End stage in front of a full house.

One of the lucky ones to have a ticket was Legion employee Afsheen Latif. This is her take on this very special performance.

 

The play followed a group of Service men and women, and centrally a character called Charlie F. It tracked the trials faced in their daily lives, from the moment the IED blast hits and the realisation they’re seriously wounded, to their struggles with rehabilitation, reconnecting with their families, and re-joining civilian life.

The play dealt with many sensitive issues that are often difficult to talk about, sleepless nights, depression, anger management and sexual relationships. It was just a glimpse into the challenging daily reality of many of our Service people.　

The stories are told in a gritty way, but there’s a lot of humour which is a coping mechanism for life in the forces - ‘You’ve got to have a laugh’ one character says. It is also a reminder that we should never take for granted the sacrifice made by our brave Service people on our behalf. The least we can do is never forget.　　　

A five-minute standing ovation was a testament to the power of The Two Worlds of Charlie F and the enormous effort put in by everyone involved.

Bravo 22 Company