The Royal British Legion celebrates 90 years providing welfare for servicemen, ex-servicemen and their dependants across the armed services and its Poppy Appeal remains the accepted way in which most pay their respect to those who fought during war.
The legion was formed on 15 May 1921 and now, as we reflect on its long history, the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service is able to shed fresh light on the history of the institution in our region.
The minutes of the Little Weighton Branch have recently been deposited with the council-run service and give insight into how The Royal British Legion affected small village communities.
Documents also reveal that the branch in Little Weighton came into being almost a year before the legion itself. The Little Weighton Branch started life as a post of the ‘Comrades of the Great War’ known as the ‘Little Weighton Post’. However, soon after the formation of The Royal British Legion, the post wound up and reformed as part of the legion.
Sam Bartle, collections officer, said: “The fact that the Little Weighton community decided to form a branch of the ‘Comrades of the Great War’ highlights a wider need in the country at that time for a formal group to lead the way in commemorating war heroes. The various groups that assembled in response to this were unified by the formation of The Royal British Legion a year later.”
Inside the minutes it is revealed that the initial subscription for members was sixpence, and that the branch captain was Mr J D Lacey. They numbered 26 members and later entries show how the branch involved itself in organising the local parade on Armistice Day and the collections on Poppy Day.
The minutes of The Royal British Legion, Little Weighton Branch is available for research at the archives and local studies search room, in the Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley.
