“We’re here everyday, of every month, of every year” says chairman of Derbyshire Royal British legion branch

After recently taking over as chairman of the Staveley RBL, Graham Weighill has been eager to talk about the work the charity does throughout the year, not just around Remembrance Sunday.

During monthly meetings, Staveley RBL is organising fundraising events and coordinating support for local veterans who are in need of assistance.

Graham said: “I think the common perception that is held by people is that we are only around for two weeks a year, during the national poppy appeal. We’re not. We’re here every day, of every month, of every year.”

Staveley RBL’s former chairman, John Wallace, described a lot of the work done by the Royal British Legion as “going under the radar”.

He said: “We’re active throughout the years at local fairs and have a presence at a local staffer event.

“We’ll take a stall to these events to raise awareness and, of course, sell poppy-related materials to raise money for the branch which, in turn, will go to help the veterans as well. So we are around throughout the year.”

The money raised by fundraising events and the poppy appeals goes into the work that the RBL does with the country's veterans.

Currently, the RBL helps veterans nationwide, providing lifelong support to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. This includes advice and guidance around returning to civilian life, as well as recovery and rehabilitation given to those physically and mentally affected during their service.

The RBL works with politicians and officials to better represent the interests of the Armed Forces community. This support is provided by Branch Community Support representatives.

John said: “A lot of RBL branches have BCS representatives. They are the people who will be the first point of contact, locally, for someone who needs the assistance of the Royal British Legion.

“It may be that one of our veterans may just need somebody to talk to. Loneliness is a terrible thing. As we get older and people around us pass away, we are left isolated. Particularly our veterans. So just to go and have a chat, and give somebody someone to talk to is a big thing.”

Nationwide, the RBL does more than just offer a friendly voice for someone to talk to. They also provide grants of financial support to in-need armed forces communities.

According to John, in the last quarter, more than £129,000 was donated to Derbyshire veterans who have found themselves struggling during the cost of living crisis.

John said: “We’re also keen to get into our local schools to educate the children. I’ve been to schools and spoken to groups of year six and year seven children with another one of our branch members.”

He added: “We talked about some of the major battles of both World Wars, but everything we tried to teach them was wrapped around remembrance and what the RBL does all over the country.

“We also taught them about some of the women who have served, not just on the front lines, but those that worked with things like Bletchley Park.”

Staveley RBL is one of the smallest RBL branches in the region.

According to Graham, one of the biggest challenges that RBL branches like Staveley face is shrinking membership.

The hope to encourage more local people to join Staveley RBL – particularly younger people, as the branch looks towards the future.

Graham said: “There’s no age limit. Any group that's out there wants to attract youth, because youth is the future. But we will encourage anybody to join us – of any age and any background, who have got that willingness to work to support our veterans and armed forces communities.”

Young people can gain youth membership to the RBL, with the opportunity to become youth standard bearers at marches and events.

Talking about this year's remembrance service in Staveley, Graham said the day went really well, with a terrific turnout that seems to grow in number year-on-year. The Chairman was particularly happy with the number of younger people attending the service.

Graham has also been proud to see Staveley RBL being represented at a national level, through John bearing the branch's standard at various events.

You may have seen John proudly carrying Staveley RBL’s standard on your television screens at this year's remembrance services in London. He was part of both the parade towards the cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, as well as the festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, the night before.

John said: “Leading the column down the steps at the Royal Albert Hall to the Royal British March, I was fit to burst out of my jacket. It was an absolutely fantastic experience.”

John was also invited to be a standard bearer at both the Queen's funeral and the King's coronation, both of which he is incredibly proud to have been a part of.

John said: “At the funeral, I’m not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye. London was at a standstill and very sombre. I don’t use this phrase lightly but she was possibly the greatest servant this country has ever had. She dedicated her whole life to this country and she was an example.”

The Staveley and District Royal British Legion branch holds its monthly meetings on the first Thursday of every month, commencing at 6.30pm at Staveley Legionnaires Club. The next meeting is set to take place on December 7.