The origins of the Bracknell and District Royal British Legion date back to 1919, when the men of the village who served in the Great War, organised themselves and formed a "Comrades of the Great War Club". Their premises, which were situated on the eastern side of the village, was a construction of part brick and part corrugated iron and was to serve them for the next eleven years. When the British Legion came into existence in 1921, the club immediately affiliated as a Branch.

During the late 1920s a prominent local man, Harold Footman OBE, decided that the men who served the country so well were deserving of better premises and facilities which he offered to provide from his own funds. This was a time of severe economic depression, with the unemployment figures at record high levels. Mr Footman insisted that only local labour should be used on the project - even the bricks were manufactured by the famous brick works situated in the village. Opened in 1930, the building dominated the village and was regarded as the finest Legion in the Southern England.

Around 1950 Bracknell village, with a population of 5000, was designated a "New Town" under the New Town Act of 1949 and was to be developed along with other new towns to take a share of London's rapidly expanding population. The construction of houses and factories began almost immediately. As the houses were occupied, correspondingly the level of the branch membership increased substantially.

During the mid 1960s, a compulsory purchase order was served on the branch to make way for development of the town centre. After protracted negotiations, our Trustees were successful in reaching a satisfactory agreement, along with a limited choice of alternative sites. We moved to our present location in 1968 with the official opening in 1969 by the then National Chairman of The Royal British Legion, Dennis Cadman.

Information provided by the late past Bracknell Branch President:
Mr Fredrick D Cooper MM BEM (2004)

Updated 11 July 2014