Royal British Legion reaches out to Wigan veterans in need of support

The town centre base at the Armed Forces Community HQ on School Lane is just one of a network of RBL clubs in Wigan borough - there are also branches in Pemberton, Standish, Orrell, Aspull, Hindley, and Ashton.

As with all RBL branches, they take part in a wide variety of parades across the year - such as Remembrance Sunday, Armistice Day, and Armed Forces Day - as well as organising social activities.

The officers of the Wigan Town Branch RBL are Sid Gibson (chairman), Tom Catteral (secretary), Brian Fenton (president), and Paul Pennington (publicity and recruitment officer).

Mr Pennington said: "We exist to reach out to the veterans' community in Wigan and wider areas, and also to the families of those who have served crown and country.

"We also endeavour to support those in need from the veterans' community, and the families who have had a spouse or family member who served in the armed forces."

Mr Pennington, 76, has himself had a 30-year career with the military, joining the army as a teenager in 1964. He first saw active service in 1967 during the the Aden Emergency, an insurgency against British rule in what is now Yemen in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

He added: "We want to promote the branch and recruit more members to reach out to veterans in the community who are not engaging. There are a lot of people out there with PTSD and we want to reach out to those people who need support. It's about community spirit and building comradeship.

"Anybody can join the RBL and you don't have to be a veteran, non-veterans are also welcome to join. There are a number of branches in Wigan borough but we are predominantly the branch for the town centre. You can be a member of up to four branches."

The RBL Wigan Town branch meets as normal on the third Wednesday in January at 4pm at Wigan Armed Forces Community HQ at Molyneux House on School Lane. From February, it will be meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at 7pm at the same venue.