To the memory of the fallen
and the future of the living
Welcome to
The Royal British Legion
Wiltshire
We are to administer and support the delivery of welfare services and the membership and fundraising activities of the Legion's branches and clubs throughout Wiltshire.
Membership of The Royal British Legion is available to all adults, not just members or ex-members of the forces and we always welcome new members. Drop into your local branch or click here to find out how you can join.
MEO Weekly Bulletin. Updated Central News 2/7/24
Each week our MEO, Will Dommett, sends out a roundup of the weeks happenings and news from around Wiltshire and Dorset. They will be available to read here and various parts such as events coming up across the Wiltshire county will be on the County Events Calendar on the left. All sorts of info to check out so be sure to take a look. A new one will replace the old one as we receive them.
Occassionally there will also be a Membership E-Newsletter.That can be viewed here.
Click the link for the LATEST CENTRAL NEWS
Standard Bearer Introduction
Kevin toft has arranged a short intro for interested branch standard bearers.
He is running a workshop covering the following detail:
I will be at St Mary's Church Bishops Cannings between 11am and 1pm on Tues 11 June.
This will be an informal session with basic instruction for standard bearers.
Drill covered will be : the order, carry and dips for act of homage and national salute.
Dress: is casual (advise bringing shoes that you can march in).
Kit: standard, sling and gauntlets.
Parking: please use pub car park next door The Crown Inn or village hall.
Recently we were lucky enough to recruit two new positions to the county commitee. We felt it a good opportunity to introduce the whole team and first up is Kevin Swift. Kevin is our new County Recruitment Officer and he has put together a few notes on his story so far. We hope to have more members stories in the none too distant future. In the meanwhile why not pop over to the Meet the Team page for the first of our stories.
D-Day 80. Remembering D-Day and the Battle of Normandy
The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Along with the associated airborne operations, it marked the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe.
Lots of information can be found by following this link
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/remembrance-events/d-day
East Knoyle Page updated
Latest Pics and report from East Knoyle available on their page
Membership Handbook
The revised Membership Handbook is now available on MAP or can be requested from your Membership Engagement Officer (MEO). A summary of changes made is also available to view on MAP.
Do you have a few minutes as a Veteran to complete a survey?
BSW Research Hub in the University of Bath and the Integrated Care Board for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire have been commissioned by NHS England to carry out a survey to understand military communities’ thoughts about health and social care research. This is with a view to make health research more inclusive so people serving and their families, or ex-service folk can participate and potentially benefit from being a part of research.
If you have a moment to distribute the survey amongst ex and current military friends/colleagues/families within the region it would be most appreciated.
Link to survey:
https://forms.office.com/e/viYmc5J81k
Swindon Veterans Support
A new page has been set up for VA Swindon.
Volunteering with the RBL
Details of how to volunteer can be seen on the attached POSTER just click the link.
Exciting New Stuff!!
Well maybe not but we need to get your attention. There are TWO new Forms in the RBL Forms page. Follow the LINK
A NEW PAGE specifically for Branch Community Support has been put together and will grow as we get more branches and info on where to find support. Its on the LEFT or just click HERE
The Office for Veterans Affairs has published a 6monthly report which can be found here. Please take time to read it.
In the National Conference page a link can be found for the Resolutions Booklet released by head office.
Devon County are planning a trip to Normandy in June 2024. More details and a booking form can be found here and here.
Opportunities To Retrain
A newly formed Swindon company, PC Group, are offering a discounted course in plastering for Veterans. The four day course will cover all aspects of becoming a plasterer or micro cement work specialist. A printable poster with contact details are available HERE. If you are looking to swap your job or not certain what you would like to do PCG are also offering taster days. Contact them for more details.
Branch News Page.
We have recently changed the way in which we load news pages for the branches. In the past we have had a seperate link to each branch that sent in any info but it made the navigation bar a bit congested. So there is now a "Branch News Pages" section on the left where all the branches are grouped together. If there is a RED link in the section there is either fresh news or a link to the branches webpage. Dont forget if you have news to share then send it to either Nicola or myself please.
RBL Cost of Living Help
The RBL have released details on their plans to help members with the cost of living. More information can be found HERE
New Section Added
UPDATED
I have for ease added a new section on the left called RBL Forms. Currently it has the new MS1 versions in the folder but more will be added as required
Contact Details
Some branch officers and members have in the past used their own personal email addresses for contact between both our MSO Nicola Burand and Head Office. As part of the requirements of GDPR the RBL have STOPPED using these email addresses and do not accept emails from them. That means you may have missed important news or requests. If you are a Branch Officer, i.e. Chairman, secretary etc you are able to get a new email address for the post. All you need to do is contact either Nicola or Keith and we will arrange for an rbl.community address to be supplied.
Please keep in touch and lets keep moving the Wiltshire branches forward.
RBL Volunteer Support Project
We want to let you know about our new project, Legion Links.
In short, the Legion Links project intends to create a national network of social groups offering support to carers in the Armed Forces community. The programme aims to help Armed Forces carers feel less lonely and isolated because of their caring role, by supporting them to develop interests, friendships, and engage more with their communities. Each group will be co-ordinated by two newly created volunteer roles, Support Group Facilitator and Support Group Administrator.
We are currently in the process of locating venues for our first ten support groups launching between August – October 2021. At the moment we have two confirmed locations, the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire and the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire. We now have a Legion Links page on the main RBL website, as well as having our volunteer roles listed on the main volunteer page. We will also have Volunteer Roles on local and national recruitment sites.
The Legion Links Team are particularly interested in working with RBL branches on this project, both as potential locations for groups and as a source of potential volunteers. If you feel you or your branch members may be able to help in this project contact the Legion Links Team for a chat
For a detailed description of the project and roles involved contact the webmaster for more information.
We are really keen to hear from members who may be interested in the roles, please ask them to register their interest at: LegionLinks@britishlegion.org.uk.
Cant Find the OLD news?
Check the ARCHIVE HERE
County Contact Details
Further contact information for all Area Staff is available here
Public Liability Certificate 2024 Available HERE
Wiltshire Branches
View The Royal British Legion - Wiltshire Branches in a larger map.
Contact details for prospective members are available on each Branch.
Clean Up
Occassionally items on the front page of the website become out of date and not current. So in an attempt to keep the website tidy and easy to find your way around items need to be taken off but we appreciate they may still be relevant to various visitors. Dont worry. Anything that falls in to this area of the tidy up is moved to the Archives on the left hand menu near the bottom of the list. Check there first and if its not in there then drop me an email as I keep this on my computer and can send you the details.
Veterans Gateway Information
NOW LIVE
Veterans’ Gateway is made up of a consortium of organisations and Armed Forces charities, including The Royal British Legion, SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity, Poppyscotland, Combat Stress and Connect Assist.
Their connection with additional key referral organisations – both within and outside the Armed Forces sector – means we can get you to the right organisation who can help.
Funded by The Armed Forces Covenant, this is the first time a group of this kind has come together formally to deliver a service to help the Armed Forces community.
Get in touch
You can speak to one of our team by phone or email.
They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to put you in touch with the help you need, or direct you to the information you are looking for.
Mark Collins
Assistant Director Veterans Gateway
WHAT WE DO. EVER WONDERED EXACTLY WHAT?
Well if you have we now have a list of what the RBL does in the Services community. Take a look HERE.
Armed Forces Covenant in Numbers Fact Sheet
Attached are some details of how and who is supporting the covenant and what has been achieved so far. The document is available HERE.
Volunteering to Help
If you would like to do some voluntary work with the Legion please have a look at the following link. VOLUNTEERING TO HELP.
View our News & Events calendar for more information on what's happening.
About The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion is the nation's leading Armed Forces charity providing care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. It is also the national Custodian of Remembrance and safeguards the Military Covenant between the nation and its Armed Forces. It is best known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem the red poppy.
Advice and Assistance
There are three ways for those needing our assistance to contact the RBL:
- The Knowledge Base which is accessed through the RBL website http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/can-we-help
- The Contact Centre (new free phone number: 0808 802 8080) which is open from 8 am to 8 pm seven days a week.
- Face to face meeting with a Caseworker or Case Officer.
If the Knowledge Base does not answer the query, or if the individual does not have access to a computer, then the next port of call is the Contact Centre. This Centre is now working 7 days a week from 8am to 8pm. If the Contact Centre is not able to resolve the issue then it passes the details of the case to the Area Advice and Information Team Leader (AITL). The AITL will then pass the case onto the local Case Officer (CO) and they will allocate the case to a caseworker who will arrange to meet the person making the enquiry.
There are a number of opportunities for Volunteering roles and we especially need more volunteer caseworkers. If you are interested in volunteer work you can find a form of Expression of Interest at this link
If you would like to volunteer for one of these roles please complete the form and send it to Fi Hedges whose address is at the bottom of the form.
Swindon Area Office,
The Royal British Legion
104 Above Bar Street
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 7DT
Thankyou for your co-operation.
