2025 Free

Impact Report 2025

The Royal British Legion is the UK's largest armed forces charity, supporting serving and ex-serving personnel and their families across 66 countries. In 2025, the RBL awarded £11.8m in grants and secured £24.5m in War Pensions awards through tribunal representation. 64 competitors were selected for Team UK at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, supported by the Battle Back Centre. The RBL operates through 180,000 members and 110,000 volunteers. A new 10-year strategy was launched to respond to the changing needs of the Armed Forces community.

Report snapshot
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About

RBL support helpline (0808 802 8080, 8am-8pm 7 days); casework and specialist support (financial, welfare, housing, employment, care); Battle Back Centre (adaptive sport, adventurous activities, wellbeing for wounded/injured/sick personnel); care homes (Galanos House and others); tribunal representation (War Pensions); Poppy Appeal; Poppy Supporter; remembrance events and campaigns; Poppyscotland; membership network (branches UK-wide) Custom geography from upload: UK-wide and 66 countries

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 Households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries; £11.8m in grants awarded to those in need; 180,000 members and 110,000 volunteers
Key Metric 2 £24.5m in War Pensions awards secured through tribunal representation; beneficiaries completed recovery courses at Battle Back Centre; 64 competitors selected for Team UK at Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025
Key Metric 3 Care home residents supported to live independently; RBL support helpline operational 8am-8pm, 7 days a week, 0808 802 8080; new 10-year strategy launched to support changing needs of Armed Forces community

Key Outcomes

  • Invictus Games Team UK: 64 competitors selected — Battle Back Centre involved with Invictus Games since 2016; Scottish Welfare Fund guidance amended to disregard Guaranteed Income Payments for veterans; Scottish Census consultation engagement to protect veteran status question
  • 10-year strategy launched responding to changing needs of Armed Forces community; policy work across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland; VALOUR Workshop in Northern Ireland; MP briefings on Northern Ireland Troubles Bill
  • Founded 1921 by Field Marshal Earl Haig; UK's largest armed forces charity; 180,000 members; 110,000 volunteers; supporter Naomi Hall features in impact report cover; funded through Poppy Appeal and donations

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022