December 2012 Newsletter - The Royal British Legion

STAFFING CHANGES IN THE COUNTY OFFICE
Area Manager
Area Administrator
WELFARE
Team Leader
County Welfare Officer
County Welfare Officer
County Managers Assistant
County Managers Assistant
MEMBERSHIP
County Secretary
BENEFITS & MONEY ADVICE
BMA
BMA
-
Richard Foster
Sarah Gale
County Parade Marshal
David Brown
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Corrine Robinson
David Brown
Daniel Martin
Angela Kitchen
Matt Woodliffe
Linda Fell
Jenny Anderson
Paul Doherty
Lowry House
17 Marble Street
Manchester
M2 3AW
Contact numbers for Welfare
-
0161-638-9247
WEB SITE
We now have a Greater Manchester County Web Page—
Mr David Brown is our Web Master. If any Branch has
informa on, photographs or anything of interest please forward to
County Office. The website address is
h p://www.bri shlegion.org.uk/coun es/greater-manchester
or the other website is
h p://www.greatermanchester-bri shlegion.org.uk/
ON BEHALF OF GREATER MANCHESTER COUNTY
OFFICIALS AND COMMITTEE WE EXTEND TO ALL OUR
MEMBERS THEIR SINCERE BEST WISHES FOR A VERY HAPPY
CHRISTMAS AND A SUCCESSFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW
YEAR
Greater Manchester
County Newsle er
December Edi on 2012
GREATER MANCHESTER
COUNTY ANNUAL CONFERENCE
COMBAT STRESS
Combat Stress provides a dedicated service for Veterans whose mental health con-
The 2013 Annual County Conference will be hosted by Boothstown Royal British
Legion Branch and Club, Victoria Avenue, Boothstown Manchester M28 1HQ on
Saturday 19th January 2013.
dition is often complex and long term. This service is NOT routinely available in
the NHS or elsewhere.
Conference will commence at 11.45 a.m. with a Wreath Laying Ceremony followed
by a buffet lunch for all Delegates and Visitors at 12 Noon Conference will commence at 1.00 p.m. and conclude at approximately 3.30 p.m. enabling Members to
travel home in daylight.
A small, but significant, number of Veterans leave the Armed Forces with a severe psychological wound such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A symptom of PTSD
is the frequent tendency to recall life-threatening incidents, which can lead to day and
night terrors, mood swings, panic attacks and phobias. Other debilitating conditions that
Veterans may suffer from include depression and/or anxiety disorders.
Guest Speakers:
To be confirmed
Combat Stress offers:
County Chairman
No election required. Mr Chris Makinson elected 2012 for a three year period.
County Vice Chairman
No election required. Mr Dick Southern elected 2012 for a three year period.
Nomination – County Committee
Nominations are required for County Committee to serve for a three year period.
We ask all Branches to give consideration to nominating those who may be able to
provide the inspiration and strength needed for Greater Manchester County Committee.
Nominees will need to be willing and also have the time to be a pro- active Member
of the County Committee to ensure that we remain a strong, knowledgeable and
active County.
Please note: Nominees do not have to be a Branch Committee Member to be nominated for County Committee.
Jack White VC Memorial Cup
This cup was generously presented by his widow to the County in 1950 and is held
for one year by the Branch considered to have shown the most overall progress in
respect of the work of the Royal British Legion.
Consideration, when adjudicating a Branch application, is given to Membership
figures, Poppy Appeal collections, receipt of Branch Accounts, Form M.S.1 and
Form C4/C5 by the due date. (Form C4/C5 applies to Branches with a Club).
1. The Combat Stress 24-hour Helpline: 0800 138 1619, text: 07537 404 719
(standard charges may apply for texts) or email: combat.stress@rethink.org The
Helpline provides confidential help and advice on any mental health issue to the
military community and their families.
2. Outpatient clinics at all our treatment centres providing assessment and stabilisation.
3. A Community Outreach Service, delivered by teams of Mental Health Practitioners, Community Psychiatric Nurses, and Regional Welfare Officers. This offers
assessment, treatment, and sign posting; group work and carers groups and one stop
shop half days.
4. Specialist clinical treatment at three short-stay residential Treatment Centres in
Shropshire, Surrey and Ayrshire including:
 A rolling programme allowing for bespoke interventions including psychoeducation programmes, coping skills training, mindfulness, art therapy and individual trauma-focused therapies
 The Six-week Veterans' PTSD Programme - a new programme that started in September 2011, provides enhanced treatment and rehabilitation for Veterans with complicated presentations of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
 A Well-being and rehabilitation Programme - available to all Veterans receiving
treatment in our short-stay centres, as part of a structured occupational therapy model. The timetable includes: employment mentoring; life skills workshops; social
activities in the community; supervised practical exposure to feared situations, etc.
In partnership with The Royal British Legion we send Veterans, along with our clinical
staff, to Breakaway Centres run by the RBL and RAF Benevolent Fund as part of a Recovery Pathway that allows them to practise techniques learnt in our well-being and rehabilitation programme.
The end result of 13 boxes of papers, newspaper articles, photographs, letters,
etc. provided by his son, is The Tenacious Spy: The Story of William Morris
Jones. I believe your members will be particularly interested in this remarkable
man and his exploits. The book is available in printed form
from: www.amazon.com or www.amazon.uk or as an ebook from Kindle.
Ashton-under-Lyne Branch in
conjunction with Tameside Community
Choir held a Poppy Concert in St
Peters Church Ashton-under-Lyne on
Saturday 27th October 2012. The
concert was attended by the Major of
Tameside and over 200 guests. The
evening made a magnificent total of
£1430.00 for the poppy appeal.
Thanks go to Anne Hewitt who help
organise the event.
ANNUAL REPORT 2012
On behalf of the Greater Manchester County Committee, in presenting to you this
Annual Report for the year ending 30th September 2012, we do so with a debt of
gratitude to the Members and Branches within the County who have enabled us to
maintain and continue an active organisation.
COUNTY COMMITTEE
The County Committee has had a busy year holding monthly meetings and subcommittee meetings when necessary.
The Officers and Committee members would like to extend their appreciation to
those Branches who have supported the County during the past year.
MEMBERSHIP
The decline in Membership is still cause for concern and we urge all Branches to
take positive action to encourage and retain membership. If we are to build on our
remaining Membership then we ask that Branches comply with Legion Policy and
encourage new and lapsed Members to pay their subscriptions by Direct Debit
which helps prevent Members lapsing. This method of payment will also lighten
the workload for the Branch, especially the Membership Secretary.
During the past year we closed Heywood Branch. Unfortunately despite arranging
a SGM in an attempt to save the Branch there was not enough support to re-form
the Branch Committee. However, on a positive note we have gained two new
Branches, Chorlton and Old Trafford.
CLUBS
We appreciate these are difficult times and the majority of our Clubs are facing an
up hill struggle to survive, however, if we are informed early that a Club is experiencing problems then we have more chance of avoiding closure.
The Club Business Advisor, Geoff Morrey, is available to visit Clubs and assist
them in any way he can. Geoff can be contacted through County Office.
Sadly this year we have seen the closure of the City of Salford RBL Club. The
Branch will continue, however, the closure of a Club inevitably leads to a loss of
Membership.
RECRUITMENT
The Principle County Recruitment Officer (PCRO) is Dick Southern together with
Alan Wright, David Brown and Karen Brooks who are County Recruitment Officers (CRO). The team is available to assist and advise any of our Branches on recruitment and retention matters.
Branches that have affiliation with their local Cadet Units or Youth Organisations
gain support with the Poppy Appeal and could also increase their Membership.
For further information on affiliation please contact the County Youth Officer,
David Brown, via County Office.
The following Branches have affiliation with Cadet Unit and Youth Organisations:
Ashton-under-Lyne, Farnworth/Kearsley, Heywood, Lees & District, Middleton,
Partington, Rochdale.
TRAINING
Karen Brooks is the County Training Officer and works with the National Training team to deliver training within Greater Manchester County. Karen is willing
to attend Branch meetings to discuss training requirements and how training is
delivered. Karen can be contacted via County Office.
David Brown is the County Youth Officer and is responsible for training Cadet/
Youth Members to carry a Royal British Legion Standard.
If your Branch is considering affiliating a Cadet Unit or Youth Organisation then
please contact David via County Office.
POPPY DAY APPEAL
The National Poppy Appeal figure for 2011 was £40,088,972.78. To all our Poppy
Appeal Organisers and their assistants, we pay tribute to their splendid efforts,
and sincerely hope more of our Members will come forward to support and work
with their Branches during the Poppy Appeal. Please give your Poppy Organisers
the help and support they deserve.
The 2012 Poppy Appeal in Greater Manchester was operated from Byrom House
and we extend our grateful thanks to all concerned for their hard work and dedication to the Appeal.
COUNTY CONFERENCE
The seventh Greater Manchester County Annual Conference was hosted by Boothstown Royal British Legion Branch/Club on Saturday 21st January 2012. To those
Branches and Standard Bearers who attended we extend our sincere thanks.
We urge all our Branches to support this important event by sending Delegates
and Standard Bearer to represent their Branch.
COUNTY STANDARD BEARER and COUNTY YOUTH STANDARD BEARER
COMPETITION 2012
Mr John Thornhill - Ashton-under-Lyne Branch, Mr David Cahill - City of Salford Branch, Mr Peter Evans – South Manchester Branch entered the County
Competition.
The Competition was held at Castle Armoury, Bury on Saturday 17th November
2012 commencing at 10.30 a.m. with Judges from Cheshire County and West Lancashire/Merseyside County.
Visitors (reliving isolation and supporting beneficiaries)
Visitors are volunteers who carry out visits under the Hospital &
Housebound Visiting Scheme. Their role is to provide companionship to those who are isolated, unwell or vulnerable for any reason.
Visitors are able to provide a small gift to those that they visit, funded
by the Legion.
Visitors again need to be patient and sympathetic, and having good
verbal communication skills and enjoying a chat are essential.
The County recently recruited and trained 10 new caseworkers and
they will be a valuable asset to the County Welfare Team, but the
County is in need of more caseworkers.
I have recently had a biography published
which I believe will be of interest to members of the British Legion. It concerns a Canadian war hero, Major William Morris Jones.
As a member of the Canadian Royal Black
Watch, he returned from WWI a much decorated soldier, having twice been awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal. When WWII
began, he was determined to enlist, but having lost an eye in WWI, the Canadian military
refused to accept him. Jones travelled to
Britain as a seaman on a merchant vessel
determined to join the RAF--and he did. He
was subsequently sent to the Middle East
where he developed an excellent defense
system for Cyprus, then several more in other areas. While there he was approached by
Britain's MO4 and asked if he would consider
a highly secret mission. Of course he
would! Jones was that kind of man. One
requirement was that he leave the RAF and join the army and that he could join
the Imperial Black Watch. After espionage training near Jerusalem, he was parachuted into Croatia with the task of determining who the Partisan army was
supporting--the Allies or the enemy invaders. He quickly became a folk hero to
the people for his daring and amazing work, however, the Germans placed a
"wanted dead or alive" price on his head for his amazing work.
Volunteers Wanted
The County is in need of new volunteers in various roles and below
is examples of the types of volunteers we are looking for:
Caseworkers (welfare and support casework)
The role of caseworkers is essentially twofold. Firstly, caseworkers
establish contact and provide a basic level of support to the beneficiary or client. This helps prevent the client from feeling isolated or
vulnerable. However, caseworkers are not expected to be counsellors or professional advisers.
The second, and possibly most important element of the caseworker
role, is to gather evidence and compile a report for a Legion staff
member. This report provides the details needed for us to make an
assessment of needs and to arrange welfare support. In summary,
caseworkers generally carry out the following:



Visit the client in their home wherever possible;
Establish and verify eligibility for Legion support;
Identify the potential welfare needs of the individual or family and
make recommendations for support;
 Produce a report supporting the recommendations;
 Complete all relevant forms and collect any other paperwork required;
and submit all paperwork or any other information as soon as possible.
Previous experience in welfare or social work is not required, but can
be a tremendous benefit. However, caseworkers do need good written and verbal communication skills. They also need to be patient
and good listeners. Caseworking is not for everyone, as some people can find asking for personal information or discussing difficult issues with clients daunting. However, caseworking can also be very
fulfilling.
There is a Caseworker course being held on 18th & 19th January in
Bolton Arena. If anyone is interested please contact Sarah at the
County Office
Mr John Thornhill won the Competition and will carry the County Standard for
2013.
Mr David Cahill was placed second and will act as Deputy County Standard Bearer for 2013.
We had 7 ATC Cadets entering the County Youth Competition.
Sam Wyatt (Bury 1036 Squadron) won the Competition,
Jessica Ward (Bury 1036 Squadron) was placed second.
We extend our thanks to all the Standard Bearers who entered both the County
and Youth Competition. Our thanks also to David Brown, County Parade Marshall, Helen Richardson, Karen Brooks and Trevor Warren for assisting on the
day.
Congratulations to John, David, Sam and Jessica.
Standard Bearer tuition classes for RBL and Cadet/Youth are organised by David
Brown, County Youth Officer and are held at Failsworth and Bury Drill Halls.
For further information on training please contact David Brown via County Office.
COUNTY ANNUAL SERVICE - SALFORD CATHEDRAL
We are pleased to report that the County Annual Church Service was a resounding
success and was well attended by Members and Standard Bearers.
The Service was attended by The National Chairman Mr John Farmer, the Lord
Lieutenant, High Sheriff and Civic Heads of Greater Manchester.
We received a warm welcome from Salford Cathedral The Dean of Cathedral welcomed the congregation. Music from the Fusiliers (Lancashire) Band was excellent
and with a Strawberry Cream Tea served at the conclusion of the Service, everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. To the Branches and Standard Bearers who attended we extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for your
support.
FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCE 2011
This year’s Festival of Remembrance was an extremely proud occasion for Greater
Manchester County. Mr Geoff Lock, Deputy County Standard Bearer, carried the
County Standard, Mr David Brown, County, Regional and Deputy National Standard Bearer carried the National Standard and Mr John Thornhill, County Youth
Standard Bearer carried the National Youth Standard.
Due to the fall in Membership our allocation of tickets was drastically reduced.
The families of those who have sadly lost their lives in Afghanistan in the past 12
months are invited to attend the Festival of Remembrance.
We are pleased that so many Branches and Members attend their own local Remembrance Services each year at War Memorials, Churches and Chapels throughout the County.
WOMEN’S SECTION
The Women’s Section has an important role within our Organisation and we are
indebted to them for their time, commitment and support given so unselfishly in all
areas of Legion work. Our grateful thanks are extended to all Women’s Section
WOMEN’S SECTION
The Women’s Section has an important role within our Organisation and we are
indebted to them for their time, commitment and support given so unselfishly in all
areas of Legion work. Our grateful thanks are extended to all Women’s Section
Members.
CONCLUSION
I would like to thank the Officials and Members of the County Committee for their
continued support. I also extend my thanks to all our Branches for the time, effort
and commitment given to Welfare and the Poppy Appeal. We
fully understand and appreciate the tasks at hand become more difficult but without your continued support we cannot function.
To all who have supported the County during the past twelve months we offer our
sincere thanks and gratitude.
MR CHRIS MAKINSON
COUNTY CHAIRMAN
***********************************
Four
Tyldesley
ed St Stephens School on Tuesday 6th November.
members of
Branch attend-
Mr Robinson branch secretary gave a short talk to the pupils, explaining what
the poppy appeal is all about and why we buy poppies.
Mr Houghton Parade Marshall also spoke about the union flag and the Branch
Standard and what the colours represent and what they stand for.
The pupils responded by asking a lot of varied questions.