RBL Riders Branch

Welcome

The Branch is a national branch of the Royal British Legion, covering the whole of the UK and in fact the world.
We support and promote the work of the Royal British Legion as it supports the serving and ex-serving members of the British Armed Forces.
We are brought together by our enthusiasm for motorcycling, and our willingness to support the aims and charitable efforts of The Royal British Legion.
Branch members have the option to belong to more than one branch if they wish, allowing them to remain members of their local Legion Branch/Club as well as the Riders, which is a National Branch.

About Us

The Riders Branch is keen to attract motorcyclists and supporters of the Legion from across the globe. We already have Branch members from Cornwall to Scotland as well as Europe, Northern America and Australasia.

We are brought together by our enthusiasm for motorcycling, and our willingness to support the aims and charitable efforts of The Royal British Legion. Branch members have the option to belong to more than one branch if they wish, allowing them to remain members of their local Legion Branch/Club as well as the Riders, which is a National Branch.

We have members from The Royal Navy, The Army, The Royal Air Force, The Royal Marines, and all the Public Services as well as those who have not served, but wish to support the aims of the Royal British Legion through the Riders Branch.

The Riders Branch is very diverse in it’s membership. Members are young and old, male and female. We take part in all types of biking and biking events, from track days to rallies, on customs to sports bikes, and everything in between! And not forgetting formal Legion organised events and fund raising.

All members are encouraged to play an active role within the Branch at Local and National level, with the emphasis on being pro-active in getting together with other Branch members in their geographical area.

We try to attend as many events as possible during the year across the whole spectrum of the motorcycling calendar. We use all these events to raise awareness and funds for the Poppy Appeal.

Not forgetting, we are Bikers and try to enjoy ourselves at social events as well.

Poppy Appeal Fundraising By The Branch

Branch Poppy Appeal Total So Far – £87,996.14 (at 6th October 2023 since 1st Oct 2022)

Branch Poppy Appeal Total for 2021-22 was £163,411.89 (an excellent year)

Branch Poppy Appeal Total for 2020-21 was £70,722.02 (Covid still had an effect)

Branch Poppy Appeal Total for 2019-20 was £46,150.51 (Covid bit hard, but an excellent result)

Branch Poppy Appeal Total For 2018-19 was £134,814.53 (a good year for us)

Branch Poppy Appeal Total Since The Branch Started is an amazing £1,838,058.88

Our Badge

Whilst a good point of contact we do not make the wearing of the badge mandatory, it is optional. We do stipulate however, that if the Badge is worn that it is not worn next to anything offensive or that may bring the name of TRBL into disrepute. We ask that if worn it should be displayed either on your right or left chest. You may have seen many of us wearing our military badges and medals to celebrate our own service as proud ex/and still serving members of our Armed Forces. This too is optional and is your choice. The wearing of leather waistcoats is a typical biker form of attire and the choice of riding vests for many of us, leather protects us from a spill. If your choice of clothing is cordura or one-piece race suits then that is your choice.

Our bikes, of which we have every possible make and cc, may be adorned with large poppies, links to our website, artwork from the badge. It is all an individual statement and not Branch Policy.

The Riders Branch Standard

Due to the size of the Branch we have two Standards, one in Staffordshire and one in West Sussex.

The second Standard was Dedicated in 2011 at a moving ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum.

Our Branch Standards are currently paraded at many events all around the United Kingdom by our two Standard Bearers, Mervyn McAleese and Marcus Panayiotou. We have, however, many standard bearers within the branch who carry standards for local branches.

For more information on the Riders Branch Standards and where they are to be paraded please contact the Branch Standard Bearer.

Where Are We?

We are a part of the Royal British Legion National Districts, and as such cover all the areas that the Royal British Legion Does.

As a National (and international) Branch, we cover the whole of the United Kingdom, and have sections in other countries as well. To make organisation and management of the Branch easier, we organise ourselves into Regions, and within these are Counties.

We also have an Overseas Region which caters for Scotland and all other overseas areas.

Our Branch Regions, and their counties are listed HERE, and you can contact the relevant Regional Representative by using the CONTACT US page.