Royal bRiTisH legion dRops suppoRT foR The Unknown warrior

The war veterans’ charity, the Royal British Legion, has withdrawn its endorsement for the LMS‑Patriot Project. Despite having had links with The Unknown Warrior since 2009, the charity told the project last month that it could no longer claim the RBL’s endorsement, nor use the British Legion crest on No. 5551’s nameplates. The issue stems from a 2009 meeting between the LMS‑Patriot Project’s Company Secretary Richard Sant and Marketing & Publicity Director Andrew Laws, and the‑then RBL Director of Corporate Communications, Stuart Gendall. Mr Gendall informed them that, while the RBL could not support the ‘Patriot’ financially, it endorsed its aims and gave its permission for the project to use the RBL’s crest. Earlier this year however, in response to a letter sent to the RBL to reaffirm the charity’s relationship with the ‘Patriot’, Terry Whittles, Head of the Legion’s Board of Trustees, “asked that we no longer claim the Legion’s endorsement and stop using the crest, because doing so would, in the Legion’s view, imply that we had received financial support from the Legion,” said an LMS‑Patriot Project spokesperson. Mr Whittles told the project: “[The RBL] had been unaware of the decisions taken by Mr Gendall; he was not authorised to make them without consulting his board, and had not made the board aware of what he had done.” Commenting on the RBL’s decision, an LMS‑Patriot Project spokesperson said: “In using the endorsement and crest since 2009, the project board has acted in good faith and has never suggested that we have had any financial support from the Legion. We are extremely disappointed, but have no choice other than to comply with the Legion’s wishes.” RBL Head of PR Rebecca Warren said: “Where our official endorsement as a charity and our logo are concerned, we have to be careful to ensure we do not create confusion in the eyes of the British public as to how their donated funds are being used.” “I’m afraid I can’t comment on why a decision taken eight years ago by one employee didn’t go through the correct channels.”