The Branch was formed in 1921 and initially met in the Drill Hall in North Street.
After a period of being accommodated in The United Services Club and in other temporary offices, the Branch purchased a property named 3 Paragon Buildings at 188 Bath Road in 1930.
Shortly after World War II the members bought a property at 105 Bath Road in Cheltenham. The membership numbers grew and when this proved to be too small the property known as Potter House in St Anne's Road was bought.
On 19 April 2013, the Branch moved to Whaddon Old School, Oakley Resource Centre, Clyde Crescent, Cheltenham, GL52 5QJ.
The Cheltenham Branch is proud to have actively promoted and to have hosted the inaugural meeting of the fastest growing branch of the Legion, The Riders Branch, a national branch with, now, over 5,500 members.
The First Ten Years.
The following account of the early years of the Cheltenham and District Branch of the British Legion have been compiled from the Branch Committee meeting minutes. The quality of these minutes varies depending on who the compiler was. Unfortunately some subjects are referred to in such a way that it is very difficult to understand what was being referred to; the petition in 1926 was only referred to as "the "petition" and it was only after perusal of the annual report of a branch in Wiltshire that the nature of the petition became clear. There must have been minutes taken at Branch General meetings but unfortunately these do not seem to be extant.
On Friday 28 October 1921, at a meeting chaired by Col R Pearson VD, it was resolved that a British Legion Branch should be established in Cheltenham. The committee was to consist of 18 members, 9 [sic] from “The Officers' Association” (Col Thoyts, Major Harford, Col J Tarrant, Lt Col A Murray-Smith, Lt J Hussey, Capt Merryman, Lt Col Fenwick and Rev C Selby) and 9 [sic] from the “National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors” (NFDDSS) (Sgt Major C Craddock, Sgt Major S C H Dix, J Loder, R Middleton, J Green, G H Ryland, Craven Broad, and Capt Jifford). It was agreed that in the absence of the President and Vice-President, those members attending a meeting should select one of their number to chair the meeting. Col Fenwick and Mr J Green were selected to represent the British Legion on the Local War Pensions Committee (LWPC) on which Col Pearson and Sgt Major C Craddock were already serving as representatives of the NFDDSS. It was resolved that these four members would constitute the British Legion Unity Relief Committee (BLURC). In early November a letter was received from British Legion Publicity Department about Poppy Day on 11 November, the purpose of which was to “raise money to help the people in the devastated parts of Flanders and help the funds of the local British Legion”. Although there was little time to arrange a Poppy Day it was decided to take a quantity of poppies.
An inaugural General Meeting was held at the Drill Hall on Friday 18 November 1921, presided over by Brigadier General E C Peebles CB CMG DSO, supported by Vice President Col R Pearson VD, Hon Treasurer Lt Col F Tarrant TD and G Ryland standing in for Hon Secretary, Councillor A E Stanley.
Interestingly, contrary to the case nowadays, it was stated that, for the present, help could not be given to ex-servicemen who were not members of the British Legion; in response to a comment that some ex-servicemen in distress could not afford the 2s 6d annual membership fee (equivalent to £4.60 today) (equivalent to £4.60 today), one man offered to pay the fees for 5 ex-servicemen. This offer was copied by other persons attending the meeting.
In December the BLURC reported that distress was prevalent among ex-servicemen and their children. The sum of £50 was immediately made available and this was followed in early January by a further £70 (£2660 in 2014 values).
In May 1922, at a meeting between the Cheltenham Branch of the British Legion and the United Services Club (probably located in the Mount Pleasant Brewery on the corner of Fairview Road and Winchcombe Street) and chaired by Councillor Welstead an agreement was formalised to jointly create a “New Club”. From August 1922 British Legion meetings were no longer held at the Drill Hall but moved to the United Services Club. The first of a brief series of annual Drum Head Services was held in August and the balance of the collection was put towards the cost of erection of War Crosses at Cheltenham Cemetary.
At the Annual General Meeting held in January 1923 it was proposed that Capt Unwin VC be asked to become President for the year (Brig Gen Peebles having apparently been unable to attend any committee meetings since January 1922). No response or further action on this matter was recorded. Councillor W Welstead KSG was elected Chairman (the first time this had been a permanent appointment) and Col R Pearson became Vice-Chairman instead of Vice-President. Another notable first at this meeting was the mention of a lady, Miss Tinson was elected to be Hon Secretary for the British Legion Unity Relief Committee (BLURC). On 22 January the question of whether ex-service women could join the Legion was raised. It was pointed out that “any desirable woman” could join the Legion as a full member (maybe this description is an indication of attitudes at that time). Membership in February 1923 was 87. At this time the Hon Secretary was instructed to obtain a register to list unemployed ex-servicemen and that the Traders' Association, Rotary Club, Toc H and the National Citizens' Union be asked to apply to the Legion when requiring men for employment. A Drum Head Service was held on 5 August.
At the AGM held in February 1924, Col Pearson was elected as President and the Reverend Col W J Selby CBE was elected as Vice-Chairman and Mr J Green as Hon Secretary. There is scant information on the activities of the Legion through the remainder of the year although relief work would appear to have progressed normally. It is known that a “Skills Competition” was held at some time during the year to raise funds and that a Poppy Day collection was made, but no further details are available.
It was resolved at the AGM in January 1925 that the British Legion Committee should also constitute the Relief Committee. The President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer were all re-elected, Capt Sabattella was elected Hon Secretary and Miss Tinson remained as Hon Secretary of the Relief Fund. The committee, however was now much reduced in number and comprised; Messrs J Loder, C Craddock, Periera, Trigg and Hobbs and Major Stanley Clarke and Col Stratford-Burton. In March, a bye law was introduced to the effect that “an officer or member of the committee shall vacate his seat if he ceases to be a member of the legion or is absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the committee without a resonable excuse acceptable to the committee”. The Branch accepted an invitation from the Cheltenham Remembrance Day Committee to attend the “Ceremony at the Memorial” on Sunday 3 May. A fund-raising concert was arranged for 22 May in the Town Hall Supper Room.
At the meeting of 29 April 1925, it was decided to form a Women's Section as soon as possible.. The inaugural meeting was held at the USC at 3pm on Wed 20th May 1925. A resolution was passed supporting the British Legion National Public Petition (to influence public opinion against the anomalies respecting pension warrants) and that Sir James Agg-Gardiner MP and Sir Thomas Davis MP both be asked to support it in Parliament. The Branch obtained 983 signatories for the petition. This was the second largest petition ever presented to Parliament. The largest was the great Chartist petition. They could not expect to win their points all at once, but they did get one important concession by securing a basic rate of pensions stabilised for the next three years. Col Burton was appointed as the Branch Representative on the Local Labour Employment Committee.
In October 1925 Col Pearson was asked to arrange to command a contingent of ex-servicemen on parade on 11 November. It was stated that the Women's Section would also attend the service at the Cenotaph. The Town Clerk was to be asked whether the Branch Chaplain Rev Selby and the RC Chaplain could take part in the service. On 24 November a resolution was passed that assistance from the Unity Relief Fund be extended to cover the area of the Cheltenham & District Poppy Day (1925) Appeal. The Poppy Appeal with considerable assistance from the Women's Section had raised £652-16-11(an increase of nearly £500 more than the previous year's total).
HRH The Duchess of York (President of the Women's Section) visited the Women's Section during November and was greeted by a Guard of Honour consisting of Branch members and some some members of the United Services Club under command of the Hon Secretary.
At the AGM in January 1926 that was attended by 27 members, it was stated that membership had increased from 48 in 1924 to the present total of 140 and the recently formed Women's Section had 127 members. Miss Tinson, Hon Secretary of the Relief Committee reported that during the past year £580 (£30,000 in 2014 terms) had been expended from the British Legion Relief Fund and £50-£70 by the British Red Cross Emergency Fund as well as numerous convalescent tickets and railway vouchers. She went on to say that there were numerous small bodies to help ex-servicemen, and in Cheltenham they were practically confined to the British Red Cross Emergency Fund and the United Service Fund for temporary cases of hardship other than those due to war service. Some money was also used to enable bright children of ex-servicemen (approximately 90 at present) to benefit from higher education. Contrary to public perception the work to alleviate sickness and distress was still on the increase. A resolution proposed by the Hon Secretary Mr Sabbattella that the title of the Branch be "Cheltenham & District Branch" was carried.
In July 1926 it was agreed that a sub-branch be formed in Churchdown. A fete was held in Pittville on 2nd August and made a profit of £90-12-2. The fete was a major event, attended by 4,785 paying guests, with GWR and LMS offering to issue return tickets for the price of a single fare for journeys within a 60 mile radius. Poppy Day raised the sum of £629-5-11, a fine achievement in view of the coal strike that was in progress. At this time over 500 ex-servicemen in Cheltenham were out of work. During the year, the Unity Relief Committee had visited over 600 homes, conducted more than 800 interviews as well as spending £513-18-10 on food tickets, £127-0-0 on British Legion Relief and £85-0-0 in small loans, a total equivalent to more than £37,000 in today's terms.
At the AGM in January 1927, Col E H Platt was elected President to replace Col Pearson who had now left the area
A new British Legion & United Services Fund Benevolent Committee was elected in June 1927 in order to better coordinate use of funds. On the 29th June the Branch, together with the Women's Section entered a decorated vehicle in the town's Jubilee Procession. A Branch was established in Colesbourne, a fact that disturbed some members of the committee as the Cheltenham and District Branch had not been forewarned of this. The Poppy Appeal administered by Lt Col G Stratford Burton, this year totalled £813-17-0. Col Platt resigned from the Presidency in September due to ill health, Major F Stanley-Clarke OBE was asked to take up the post. He did so in March 1928 at which time Major Potter was coopted to the Branch Committee.A committee headed by Major Potter was set up to arrange for a collection to be made on Empire Day for the Douglas Haig Memorial Homes. £106-19-2 was collected
At a Committee meeting held on 14 April 1928, it was reported that there were objections to the Legion being mixed up with the Club, a fact that might be inhibiting recruitment of new members, and that it would be best if the Legion were to find alternative accommodation. Eventually, at a Special General Meeting held at the United Services Club on 8 September 1928 it was resolved that "The Cheltenham Branch of the British Legion be separated from the United Services Club and that premises of the officers be taken other than those at present occupied". Two rooms at No 21 The Promenade, near the municipal offices were offered by the Corporation as temporary accommodation. The amount collected by the Poppy Appeal increased yet again, reaching a total of £905-12-8 in 1928. The Branch agreed to pay expenses for a member to take part in the first of a series of annual Battlefield Pilgrimages.
The AGM on 10th January 1929 was held in the Drawing Room of the Town Hall.
Membership at this time was 116 of whom 62 were also members of the United Services Club. The Special Relief Fund had disbursed over £280 from British Legion and United Services Funds during the past year. The Benevolent Committee had made small loans in addition to the relief payments.
The following officers were elected;
President Major-General Sir Richard Wapshare KCIE CB CSI
Vice-President Mr W Welstead KSG
Chairman Major F L Stanley-Clarke CBE
Vice-Chairman Colonel The Rev W J Selby
Hon Sec Lt Col R Brettell
Hon Treasurer Col H O Browne-Mason DSO
At a meeting held at Camden Lodge, Pittville on 12 June 1929 the committee unanimously adopted a proposal by Admiral Thorp and seconded by Major Potter that 3 Paragon Buildings be acquired by conveyance to 4 trustees namely Sir Richard Wapshare, General Peebles, Major Stanley-Clarke and Col Browne-Mason. Interestingly this was the birth place of Duncan Gordon Boyes VC. A General meeting was held in the Empire Hall in early July to keep the membership informed of what was happening.
The new premises were occupied on 1 July 1929. This heralded an unpresented period of high profile activity by the Branch.
Nominations were sought for a representative to attend the Battlefield Pilgrimage. Col Cockshott was appointed to head the Poppy Appeal and was "asked to place himself in touch with Councillor Wheeler, the Secretary of the Cheltenham Armistice Day Celebration Organisation".
A letter was sent to the Women's Section offering to make accommodation available to them should there be appropriate space to meet their needs in 3 Paragon Building. It was also proposed that closer ties and cooperation be established between the two sections.
The Branch was honoured on 10 May by the visit of Lord Jellicoe, the President of the Legion accompanied by Lady Jellicoe to the town. Lord Jellicoe and Col E Heath the Legion General Secretary inspected a parade of Branch members under the command of Brig Gen Peebles. The parade was also attended by The Duke of Beaufort. The recently acquired Branch Standard was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Cheltenham.
A Whist Drive and Ball was held in the Town Hall, prizes were presented by the Lord Lieutenant of the County. A profit of about £127 was made. A further £64, the proceeds of 2 football matches arranged and played by them, was donated by the Gloucestershire Constabulary. On 10 November, 230 Branch members paraded as a body to attend a British Legion Memorial multi-denominational Service held in St Matthew's Church. This was also attended by 85 members of other units, members of the Women's Section, the Territorial Force, St John's Ambulance and the Red Cross. On the following day the Branch was represented at the Cenotaph Service and notwithstanding inclement weather, the Poppy Day collection amounted to well over £1,000 (equivalent to £53,000).
Branch membership rose from 59 before the move to the new premises to 680 on 18 December and to by 722 by the time of the AGM held in Messrs. Boots Cafe Room in the High Street on 20 January 1930. Relief to the amount of £835-12-8 had been given out as well as providing convalescent treatment to a considerable amount of ex-service personnel and their dependents.
The broadening of Branch activities inevitably led to the spawning of a plethora of sub-committees. By the spring of 1930, as well as the General Committee there were Entertainments and Sports, Relief, Finance, Rifle Club, Poppy Day, Pensions, General Purposes, and House Committees and also a committee to look into the feasibility of forming a Branch Band. Insurance was taken out for House and Contents to the value of £250. For entertainment the Branch now owned a piano (purchased for £20) and there now was an extensive reading room that contained amongst others, collections of books donated by Mrs. Burder and the late Commander Smithies (via General Dickie).
General Meetings of the Branch continued to be held in a variety of locations and that of the 15 September was held in the Empire Hall, North Place. The County Conference was held in the Rotunda on Saturday 18 October and the County Branches paraded in Montpellier Gardens on the Sunday.
An indication of how things change with time is the fact that the Finance Committee was asked in November 1930 to consider the installation of a telephone at Branch HQ. It was also at this time that the Branch resolved to "invest or place on deposit at interest any surplus funds in hand" rather than paying off the debt due to the building society for the property.
Nothing of undue interest seems to have taken place in the early part of 1931 until the May meeting when it was decided that to mark the 10th Anniversary of the British Legion, a smoking concert would be held in the Empire Hall on the 1st July and that the Evesham Troupe should be engaged. There was also to be a service at the cenotaph on 5 July.
