Raising the standard as legion is restarted
Old soldiers are finally flying the flag again after being reunited with their legion standard which they were forced to hand over when branch membership dwindled.
Members of the Dudley branch of the Royal British Legion are thrilled to once again proudly parade their standard which has a blue background at military funerals. They were forced to hand it back to headquarters when dwindling numbers led to the branch closing. It meant for the first time they had to march without the symbolic flag last Remembrance Sunday.
But a new chairman has been elected and membership is now back up to the minimum of 15.
Vice-chairman Gordon Willetts, aged 82, said members were able to take the standard to the funeral of Bill Richards at Gornal Wood Crematorium last Thursday.
He was a private with The Sherwood Foresters and had been a resident at Rotary House in Middlepark Road, on the Russells Hall estate.
Mr Willetts said: "At the funeral we paraded the regimental standard and the legion standard.
"We felt immense pride to once again carry the legion standard as a mark of respect to veterans.
"It was very upsetting when we had to hand our standard back, although we carried a Union Jack instead, it is not the same as the legion standard, which is part of the branch's identity."
The branch folded last November following the death of the chairman Ron Johnson and a lack of volunteers to take up committee roles.
An appeal for new members led to Dudley North MP Ian Austin becoming one himself.
And St James's ward councillor Malcolm Davis also volunteered and has been elected the new chairman.
Councillor Davis, aged 65, who was in the Territorial Army, said it was a privilege and he would be striving to recruit more members.
The branch holds its meetings at the ex-serviceman's club in Hall Street in Dudley.
