THE Royal British Legion is Britain's leading charity protecting the interests, welfare and memory of ex-British servicepeople and their families and dependants.

Anyone who has been in the British armed forces for seven days or more - and their families and dependants - has been eligible to ask the Legion for support and advice.

This means the Legion can help some 15 million people of all ages, from many different backgrounds and experiences, all of whom have one thing in common - they have all been affected by conflict.

The charity has staff and volunteers around the country who help with a wide variety of issues funded through the Poppy Appeal, including counselling, job retraining, skills assessment, obtaining benefits and war pensions, small business advice and loans and by simply helping members of the ex-service community achieve a better quality of life.

The British Legion was formed on July 1, 1921, through an amalgamation of four First World War ex-service organisations.

In 1925, it was granted a Royal Charter and on its 50th anniversary in 1971, the charity became known as The Royal British Legion.

The Legion is one of the largest membership organisations in Britain with 700,000 members and more than 4,500 branches in the UK and over-

seas.

Last year, the Legion spent £43 million carrying out its work.

Conflicts up to the present day, including in Bosnia, the Falklands, the Gulf and Northern Ireland, mean the Legion is needed now and in the future, for the younger generation as well as their parents and grandparents.