Royal Britsh Legion

[droberts]

Pals,

Some information Please.

When was the Legion formed??

On Application to the legion was an applicant required to furnish unit or theatre information?

Is the Legion a possible source for service data?

Thanks

David

[Paul Reed]

I am led to believe that the British Legion holds no records of former members, and certainly not from the 1920s/30s. From memory it was formed c.1922?

[Terry_Reeves]

The BL was formed in May 1921- Whitsun weekend to be precise. It does not hold personal information. However, some branches did produce their own newsletters which may mention individuals. The difficulty is of course, is knowing which branch he belonged to.

Terry Reeves

[gem22]

David

Terry was right about the date of the formation of the RBL. As for your other questions the simple answer to both is no.

Garth

[Kate Wills]

A local WFA colleague lives in a village and has spent many years researching the war memorial. It was fortunate that someone had kept the books for the now defunct village branch, and passed them on. Included were many original application forms, and other very useful information.

You do not mention which area interests you David, but it is worth contacting the nearest branch and preparing for some detective work. If you draw a blank it may be worth trying the local archives, such as the County Records Office, to ask if anything has been deposited with them over the years.

[droberts]

Thanks very much for your helpful replies. My Grandfather was from ffestiniog but settled in charlton London and later beckenham after the war.

I have a photo of the unveiling of the war memorial in ffestiniog from his collection so maybe he joined that branch. Maybe dollellau/merioneth archives might have somthing.

What prompted my questions was not being able to find his service record perhaps the barest details might have been recorded by the RBL. I might get lucky.

thanks again

Dave Roberrts