Legion facts and figures

Below are some interesting facts and statistics relating to the Legion.

• The Royal British Legion safeguards the welfare, interests and memory of serving and ex-Service people and their families and dependants.
• The Legion was founded in 1921.
• Some 9.5 million people in the UK are eligible to ask for its help.
• The Legion is one of the UK's largest membership organisations, with around 360,000 members (including the Women's Section). Anyone can be a member, ex-Service or not.
• You don't have to be a Legion member to receive assistance - but you must be an ex-Service person or a dependant. Anyone who has been in the British Armed Forces for seven days or more (and their dependants) is eligible for help.
• People as young as 17.5 years can be sent on active service, so veterans are often much younger than people realise.
• Since 2003 we have provided financial help to 10,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan operations - and we are investing £20 million in Personnel Recovery Centres to care for the wounded of current conflicts.
• There has only been one year (1968) since the Second World War when a British Service person hasn't been killed on active service.
• Each year the Legion answers thousands of calls for help to its helpline, Legionline.
• It helps with a huge range of issues, including counselling, job retraining, skills assessment, getting the right pensions and benefits, money and career advice, welfare grants, pilgrimages to war graves, convalescent and nursing care, and home and hospital visits.
• The Legion has close links to many other charities, organisations and trusts, enabling it to draw on the best resources and expertise, and to refer people to those best equipped to help them.
• The Legion will be needed for as long as people continue to be affected by conflict. It doesn't advocate war but is simply there to support those who have been prepared to make a personal sacrifice through serving in the British Armed Forces.
• In 2009, we raised £107 million - including a record £31 million for the Poppy Appeal
• The Legion spent over £110 million on its work in 2009. Apart from donations, funds come from legacies, sponsorship, corporate support and fundraising events.
• In 2009 we completed 162,000 calls for help through our Poppy Support services and spent over £1.2 million a week on our welfare work.
• We won over £16 million of increased income or debts written off through our Benefits and Money Advice service - and we supported 5,000 elderly people on low incomes in 2009.
• Our campaigning secured a major independent review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. Now, everyone who has had payments under the scheme will get extra lump sum payments up to £117,500, and bigger guaranteed, tax free monthly payments for the rest of their lives.
• For every pound raised 80p goes towards achieving our objectives and of that 6.6p goes towards our support costs.
• 300,000 staff and volunteers organise the Poppy Appeal each year.
• More than 30 million Remembrance poppies, 500,000 poppies of other types, 5 million remembrance petals, 100,000 wreaths and sprays, 750,000 Remembrance Crosses and other Remembrance items are made at the Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey, each year
• More than 70% of the workers at the Poppy Factory are disabled or suffer from chronic illness. The Factory was designed to offer jobs to such people and its remit remains the same today.