Haverhill branch of the Royal British Legion hits a major milestone in its history
Haverhill branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) this week celebrated the centenary of a meeting at which it first came into existence.
The branch marked the occasion with a ceremony at St Mary’s Church on Saturday, where a new pennant was dedicated and fixed to the branch’s standard by Ken Rowbottom, Suffolk RBL chairman.
Haverhill branch member Alan Bumpstead said of the milestone: “The British Legion was granted a Royal Charter in 1971 to mark its 50th anniversary and while there were ups and downs in the next 50 years, the Haverhill Branch today, with 60 members and a dedicated committee, are very much committed to remembering the fallen and supporting ex-service men, women and their families, including helping to raise £31,000 for the latest Poppy Appeal.”
The branch was born when a meeting of ex-service men was called for June 19, 1923, and held at the British School in Camps Road, where 33 ex-service men indicated that they would join.
A provisional committee was formed and the branch was brought into ‘proper’ existence at a meeting in October.
The branch soon became active in providing relief to needy families of ex-service men and at another AGM, at a time when some 750,000 ex-service men were still unemployed, the secretary, Capt H Payne, reported that as well as 16 cases of appeals, regarding pensions, etcetera, passing through the branch and taken up by headquarters:
157 relief tickets had been given to families of ex-service men for amounts ranging from five to 15 shillings (25p to 75p)
A soup kitchen was opened every Tuesday and Thursday, between January 17 and March 7, serving an average 190 pints per week. For the charge of one penny per pint, a fair sized piece of bread was also included, adding, many were free issues
50 rabbits and hares had been distributed to unemployed ex-service men with families on Christmas Eve, thereby ensuring them a Christmas dinner, thanks to the generosity of various gentlemen farming in the district.
Remembrance Sunday parades had begun in 1920 with the unveiling of the Haverhill War Memorial and by 1923 were being organised jointly by the Ex-Service Men’s Club (which had opened in November, 1921,when there were 600 ex-service men in the town) and the Haverhill Branch British Legion.
By 1938, the Haverhill branch had its own Legion Hall when the former Drill Hall in Burton End, built for the Territorial Army volunteers around the turn of the century, was acquired. By 1980, with branch members falling to just 11 (the women’s section had 80) the hall was sold.
The women’s section was merged into the main branch in 2016.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Haverhill branch, which is open to all, please contact chairman: bryanmills571@gmail.com.