British Legion, The Royal, is an organization of former members of the British armed services. It gives both financial and personal help to disabled and unemployed former servicemen and servicewomen and their families. There are thousands of branches of the British Legion. Welfare officers of the Department for Work and Pensions work closely with the legion in helping war-disabled people and war widows.
Each year, during the week before Remembrance Day (the Sunday nearest to November 11), artificial poppies are sold as badges by many voluntary helpers to raise funds for the legion. The British Legion was founded by the British general Earl Haig in 1921.
