Save The Royal British Legion in Sevenoaks – local branch WILL close in the New Year if help cannot be found

At a time when towns and villages throughout the Sevenoaks district have organised fantastic displays and events to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One comes the rather alarming news that The Royal British Legion in Sevenoaks, which has raised thousands of pounds through poppy sales over the years, is in danger of closing. Here is a plea from James Lang, Vice-Chair of the Sevenoaks Branch

THE Royal British Legion in Sevenoaks is in urgent need of your help, as we are under imminent threat of closure, due to being desperately short of members, especially those willing to hold positions on our committee. Without new people coming forward, the Sevenoaks branch will be forced to close in the New Year!

This will be a real tragedy for a town the size of Sevenoaks and may simply have come about due to the commonly held belief, that to join you need to have been in the armed forces, which simply isn’t the case, as we are open to everyone. Perhaps The RBL suffers from an image problem too, and is simply seen as an organisation that only looks after veterans from the conflicts of years gone by, but this once again couldn’t be further from the truth, as they continue to aid those in need to this day.

Your support for the organisation is clear each November when thousands and thousands of you purchase a poppy to wear, which is further amplified by the enormous numbers who attend the remembrance parades in the town and the surrounding villages, in order to show your respect for those who served their country in times of need. Annual membership isn’t prohibitive either, from just £17 and for young adults (12 – 16 years) membership is free.

So my plea to you is, please show that obvious support year round, by becoming a member of your local branch, or better still, consider joining the committee in order for us to retain an active presence in Sevenoaks. If I have sewn the seed of maybe in your mind, please contact me on the email below, or by attending (what might be) our last AGM on Tuesday, 13 November at the Stag Theatre from 8pm, in order to help us stop the closure of your local branch.