Road to Recovery

The Royal British Legion has comitted £50 million over 10 years to the Armed Forces Defence Recovery Programme to help serving men and women who are wounded, injured and sick.

This is the Legion's most ambitious project ever - and our largest single project in our 90 year history.

Help us get them fighting fit

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and Help for Heroes we have given a commitment of £30 million to provide and operate the Battle Back Centre, an adaptive sports and outdoor facility based in Lilleshall in the West Midlands. 

We have pledged a further £20 million towards the 10 year operating costs of four Personnel Recovery Centres (PRCs) in the UK - in Catterick, Colchester, Edinburgh and Tidworth - and an additional facility in Germany.

These facilities will support our brave Service men and women returning from conflicts in Afghamistan and around the world, by helping them regain their physical and mental fitness. For those now facing life with serious physical and psychological issues, these facilities will help them recover and retrain for either a return to duty or a seamless transition to civilian life.

Funding blast injury research

The Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London is the first collaboration of its kind in the UK, where civilian engineers and scientists will work alongside military doctors, supported by charitable funding, to reduce the effects of roadside bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) - the leading cause of death and injury for Service personnel on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The goals of the new Centre are to increase understanding about blast injury patterns, improve treatments and recovery and develop better ways of protecting those serving in current and future conflicts - thus reducing the long-term impacts of such injuries on individuals, their families and the community.

Video introduction and more information.

Recovery through performance

The Legion, Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust and the Ministry of Defence recently brought together 30 wounded, injured and sick Service personnel to write, produce and perform their own play on the West End stage in January 2012.

Members of the newly formed Bravo 22 Company, aged between 20 and 52, presented two performances of a new play based on their experiences in conflict and in recovery, entitled,"The Two Worlds of Charlie F" under the artistic auspices of Trevor Nunn CBE.

The company received standing ovations for their performances from packed houses. Members of the company were involved in creating, performing, producing, directing, designing, constructing and lighting the play.

The aim of the project is to improve confidence, self-awareness and motivation to support individual recovery, and in particular help those who are transitioning into civilian life. Some of the company will now undertake work experience in the theatrical industry.

The performances were attended by stars of the stage and screen including Ray Winstone with daughters Lois and Jaime, Michael Sheen, Rachel McAdams, Andrew Lincoln, Joanna Lumley, Robert Lindsay and Barbara Windsor (pictured congratulating a member of Bravo 22 Company).

Health and welfare strategy

The Armed Forces community is facing a "perfect storm" of health and welfare needs in coming years as the legacy of Afghanistan and Iraq combine with defence cuts and strains on public sector support, according to Legion research conducted in 2010.

Family life in the Armed Forces comes with unique pressures which can include bereavement, injury and long-term separation. Meanwhile, as a result of a reduction in the size of the Armed Forces, many young Service leavers with families will be embarking on civilian life in the most difficult economic times in recent history.

Some of these will be medically discharged and needing assistance, while others will be dealing with the isolation, loneliness and depression that can result from dislocation.

At the same time, the ageing World War II generation's need for help will also be at its peak.

By 2020, the research estimates that 1.8 million people in the Armed Forces community will be living with long-standing illness; 800,000 will be isolated socially, having little contact with family or friends; and 700,000 will be living below the poverty line.

The Legion is using this research to guide its health and welfare strategy over the coming years. The latest outline of this strategy until 2015 can be viewed here.

Detailed reports on the Legion's research and the challenges it presents are available here.