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Helping young people to understand the campaign about the Covenant

This section is designed to help explain our Honour the Covenant campaign to young people and provides resources for teachers to conduct lessons and run discussions on the issues involved.

What is the Covenant?

A Covenant is a ‘solemn agreement’ or promise.  It is can be used to describe a type of payment arrangement but is mainly used to describe an important and binding relationship.

The Royal British Legion is concerned with the ‘Military Covenant’ between the State (or Government) and the Armed Forces - that is the Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Navy. It describes the ‘Military Covenant’ as being:

“A career in the Armed Forces differs from all the others. Service Personnel agree to sacrifice certain civil liberties to follow orders; including orders to place themselves in harms way in the defence of others. In return, the Nation promises to help and support people in the Armed Forces and their families when they need it most. The mutual promise is enshrined in the Military Covenant which is acknowledged by all Services.

The Military Covenant does not have the force of law, but has been enshrined through convention, custom and contemporary application, and it represents the Nation’s moral commitment to the Armed Forces.”

Why is it important?

The Royal British Legion was created in 1921 to support serving and past members of the Armed Forces and their dependents (families who needed them). The Royal British Legion was formed before the Welfare State and played a very significant role in helping the millions of those injured or without support after the First World War. That role has developed ever since and has existed alongside services such as the NHS to provide financial, moral and personal support to Service people (past and present) and their families (see website for further info).

However, The Royal British Legion is a charity – and the main burden of responsibility for looking after those in the Forces should be the employers – The British State.

If the British State does not fulfil its responsibility through the actions of the Ministry of Defence, The Government and Parliament then members of the Forces might not be prepared to continue in their roles.

Britain is obliged to having an Forces for a number of reasons:
- its own defence;
- its international obligations to NATO and the EU; and
- its role in the United Nations Security Council.

In recent years it has been felt that British Service men and women injured or killed in wars and conflicts have not received proper care or treatment. It is also argued that their families have also not been looked after when that has happened. For example if a soldier is killed, he or she may leave behind children that will then be raised by a single parent – who will help to provide for those children? Some of those involved with conflict are seriously injured and will not be able to work again; they may also need special medical care and help – who should provide that?

The key arguments raised by The Royal British Legion include:

  • There should be a just compensation scheme which recognises the commitment and sacrifices made when serving the Nation.
  • There should be greater commitment to support the physical and mental health of Service people and their families. This includes those who fought in the Second World War as well as those from recent conflicts and for those still in the Armed Services.
  • There should be more support for the bereaved Forces Families. This would include better access to inquests and the speeding up of inquiries.

What has it got to do with Remembrance and Poppies?

In addition to The Royal British Legion’s role as a welfare body, it is also the official ‘custodian of Remembrance’. Since 1921 it has led the way to ensure that those who served in conflict or on peacekeeping activities as well as those affected by conflicts and wars are remembered.  The main focus for Remembrance is 11 November, Remembrance Day and the wearing of the poppy."

By remembering those who have served in any way in conflict or had their lives affected by it, The Royal British Legion is conscious of its role to raise awareness of events and circumstances affecting Service men and women and their families today. Remembrance is not restricted to the First and Second World Wars - all wars involve sacrifice and have lessons and experiences that are valuable to us all.

Resource information

Using the material on this website on the Covenant, the following debates and discussions are suggested to support Citizenship, RE, History and Humanities.

Resources to support
1) British Legion support information (PDFs)
Our Campaign  - 1 page summary of the demands RBL are making
Campaign Overview  - summary of the background to RBL's recommendations
Model Letter  - a draft letter for your MP
Policy Briefings - The Policy Briefings are 4 detailed documents providing detailed recommendations, discussing The Royal British Legion concerns, and providing more context. They consist of:
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
Health and Welfare Support for Serving Personnel
Healthcare for Veterans
Support for bereaved Service Families 

2) Website articles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6947770.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/629/629/3847051.stm
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Fasttrack-NHS-treatment-for-injured.3399316.jp
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/13/ntroops13.xml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/11/ncomp111.xml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,2196166,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7075850.stm

Suggested debate topics for use in the classroom

Questions to be debated and discussed in small groups or as a whole class using the resource materials listed above.

Key Stage 2

Discuss: Is it important to remember all those affected by war?

Discuss: The Army, RAF or Navy should look after people who have been injured not the State.
(Consider what you think the role of the ‘State’ is, what you think the role of the military is and who makes decisions concerning the Forces).

Key stage 3 and Key Stage 4

Debate: It is not important that Britain has a military and it should be removed - then the Covenant would not be needed. (Consider the many places that the military serves in and the roles it carries out, as well as the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan).

Debate: Injured Service men and women should be treated the same as other people who get hurt or have a disability.

Debate: Levels of compensation for injured Service personnel should fit the injury.

Debate: People who enter the military should expect to get hurt – so why should the public care about how they are then treated?

Debate: There should be different levels of compensation for Service men and women hurt in war compared to those in peacekeeping activities.
(Consider what is meant by peacekeeping activities and what those situations might be like.)

Debate: The UK’s international obligations often put it in a ‘moral role’ – it is only fair that the State has a moral responsibility to those it expects/orders to carry our some of those international obligations.

Suggested lesson plan 

Suitable for Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 with adaptations for each level.

Lesson - Running a campaign
Click here to download a PDF version of the following lesson outline. 

Honouring the Covenant is the name for The Royal British Legion’s campaign to get the Government to address the current needs of  those injured in the Forces, both serving and ex-Service, and their families.

The Legion has been involved in campaigns since it was formed.  Before the 1922 general election (the year after it was founded), all political candidates were written to asking what they would do to help ex-Servicemen if they were elected.  Campaigning doesn't mean being 'party political'.

Using the information on this site explain to the class what The Royal British Legion is.

Explain that the Legion has three main roles:

  • As the custodian of Remembrance
  • To look after the welfare of Service people, past and present, and their families
  • To campaign for the rights of the serving and ex-Service community

Ask the students as a class if they can think of examples of the three different roles.

Explain that today you will be looking at the current campaign by The Legion.
NB: Previous campaigns have been to help veterans suffering from Gulf war syndrome and campaigning for war widows pensions.

Introduce the idea of the Covenant to the class. Read out what the Covenant is.

For Key Stage 2 – working in groups ask the students to use the Covenant to discuss what they think it might mean for Service men and women (serving and ex-Service). Ask them to record and to be able to prepare their thoughts. Additional websites listed above may also help with their discussions.

For Key Stage 3 and 4 – working in groups distribute The Legion’s materials on what the campaign demands are:

Use ‘The Campaign Overview’ for younger or lower ability students and, for older or more advanced students distribute the actual policy briefings.

Ask students to discuss in their groups if they believe the Covenant is fair – are the demands of the campaign:

  • Realistic
  • Fair to the State
  • Fair to the Service men and women
  • Important for the country as a whole
  • Likely to affect their community

Present their findings or conclusions.

Explain that The Royal British Legion’s campaign has been targeted around getting people to write to their MPs.

Option 1
Ask students to write to their MPs using the model letter on the site but adding a couple of paragraphs on which aspect they think is most important in the campaign and why they think it is important.

Option 2
Ask students to decide how they would like to tell people about the campaign and what the issues are eg create a display, organise an assembly, get a motion carried at the school council.

Students can explore how The Legion’s campaign affects the community they live in, how it affects issues of Remembrance, how it affects their understanding of Service men and women and the roles they fulfil.


For further information on the UK’s involvement in international organisations and its obligations request The Royal British Legion’s free CD Rom and DVD resource.  This, together with the education pack and poster series, also include resources to support the History, Citizenship and English Curricula. Click here for further information.