One of the country’s largest charities is planning a host of family events in Basingstoke to celebrate a landmark anniversary.
The Old Basing branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) has announced plans to celebrate the charity’s 90th year.
Members grabbed brushes and rakes over the weekend to spruce up the Crown Lane fields in Old Basing ahead of their summer fair.
On June 11, Basingstoke MP Maria Miller will open the family fun day, which will feature the Old Basing Corps of Drums Marching Band and guest appearance from the legion’s bikers branch.
Alongside the other traditional summer fun on offer, members hope to raise more than £2,000 for the charity.
Rick Bourne, 57, first joined the club as a 13-year-old in 1966 and is one of the organisers. He said he hopes the afternoon will get more people supporting the charity.
Rick said: “The Royal British Legion is seen by some people today as an old soldiers club. As a result we need to breath new life into the club.
“Though we are pretty much doing the same thing as other charities, our numbers are down as others come onto the scene.
“We are going all out this year to show that the legion is still very much here and an active part of the community. We are a lot more than just the Poppy Appeal.”
The celebrations will continue into Sunday when the Old Basing legion band will lead a parade through Old Basing to St Mary’s church.
The RBL was founded in 1921 to support servicemen returning from the battlefields of World War One. The Old Basing branch was founded in October 1921 making it one of the oldest branches in the country. It was granted Royal status in 1971.
Each year the charity raises around £60m nationally through the Poppy Appeal.
Mr Bourne said: “The RBL appeals are some of the UK’s biggest charity drives. The cash helps support service-personnel, their families and their dependents, and is perhaps more relevant now as it was all those years ago. But overall we want people to come along and we hope to make the days a bit of fun and get people involved with us.”
Both events are free. The fair will run from 12pm to 4.30pm and the parade start at Crown Lane from 11.30am.
