Legion accused of celebrating war with sale of ‘grenade’ rum
THE Royal British Legion is reviewing the sale of a brand of rum called Pull the Pin after critics claim it celebrates war.
Bottles of the rum are currently sold on the charity’s website as part of its Veterans Marketplace, a page dedicated to promoting businesses run by former servicemen and women.
Ex-royal Engineer Thomas Foster, founder of Pull the Pin Spirits, designed the product to be opened with a grenade-like pin at the top of the bottle.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the RBL this year, the charity is currently showcasing a 700ml limited edition spiced rum version for £39.99
However, the inclusion of the rum in the marketplace has been criticised in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday this weekend.
The Peace Pledge Union, the UK’S oldest secular pacifist organisation, posted on Twitter: “The Royal British Legion rightly say that they don’t want to celebrate war.
“Sadly, they undermine that message by selling items such as a grenadethemed spiced rum at Remembrance time. How does this respect the dead”. Following backlash, the RBL said yesterday it is now “reviewing” the product’s placement on the marketplace.
The charity had earlier defended the product on social media explaining that the term “pull the pin” was a colloquial expression, meaning to “put something behind you” and was not in reference to a grenade. It said it was “a metaphor for knowing when to free yourself from danger” and added “If you’ve served, you’ll likely know the expressions”. The RBL said: “Pull the Pin Spirits and the other veteran-owned businesses on Veterans Marketplace are brilliant examples of how we support vets into employment, and in PTP’S case of how they want to give back to us too after we’ve supported their transition to civvy life.” Mr Foster, who joined the army in 2008, created the Devon-based range of rum with his wife after being medically discharged from the British Army following “life changing injuries” during a biathlon eight years ago. Describing the accident in an article with x-forces. com last year, he said: “I called a friend to talk things over and described the situation as having ‘pulled the pin’ on my career, and from there grew a focus to rebuild things.”