CorpComms Magazine

People meeting Stuart Gendall for the first time often make the mistake of asking the director of corporate communications at the Royal British Legion what he does during the rest of the year when the Poppy Appeal is not front of stage.

However, it is not an error that they repeat. Former journalist Gendall is passionate about the work of the not-for-profit organisation that he joined six years ago, and has worked hard to raise awareness of its role.

He was recruited after working in corporate communications for companies as diverse as TSB, Marconi and conglomerate BTR. 'I had had enough of corporate life,' Gendall explains. 'I wanted to work for somewhere that had a good story to tell, preferably a human interest story.'

His father had been involved in the Normandy landings and active in his local British Legion so, when the opportunity came to work at the charity, Gendall 'grabbed it with both hands'.

He adds: 'I realised that the work of the Royal British Legion stretches from the bottom of society to the highest echelons, that it was involved in lots of different things and that it was going to be a challenge to get the stories across.'

Founded in 1921 when there was neither social security nor a National Health Service for soldiers returning from the First World War, the British Legion (it received its Royal Charter in 1971) served as a campaigning voice for ex-service men and the dependents of the 700,000 who had been killed and also, through a network of community groups, provided opportunities to share experiences with comrades or other bereaved families. It also coordinated efforts to unite the nation in a day of remembrance in November 1921, when the poppy was first used as its emblem.

Today, the poppy is one of the country's most recognised brands and the Poppy Appeal, which last year raised £32 million, is the best known charity fundraising event. Such success is a double-edged sword for Gendall. 'Many people think remembrance is all about the First World War,' he explains. 'People know us in chunks. They'll think of remembrance or they'll have seen us collecting on the high street. Or they'll know we are a campaigning organisation. But they don't necessarily join it all together.'

WIDE RANGING ROLE

Gendall's job is to communicate that the Royal British Legion is a modern charity - a fund raising and membership organisation - that is there for anybody who has served in the Armed Forces for longer than seven days. More than 400,000 servicemen are also members of 2,800 branches of the Royal British Legion across the country.

The charity has a wide remit. It might help soldiers returning from Iraq to get counselling or bereaved families to apply for benefits. 'We help soldiers to resettle when they come home, provide training schemes and grants for them to start businesses,' explains Gendall. 'People don't have to be old and grey to apply for our services. We have helped young people returning from war with multiple injuries apply for compensation claims. It is a highly emotional time and it can be difficult for them to get the information or help they need.'

The current war has brought its own challenges. 'The tempo of modern warfare is rapid. Soldiers come back for a short time and then go off again, causing mental stresses and strains on the family,' he explains. 'We are campaigning about that and the help they need going back home.'

However, like many charities, the Royal British Legion is determined that the government should not shirk either its financial or moral responsibilities to former soldiers, allowing the charity to fill the gap. 'I think it is a challenge for all charities,' says Gendall. 'We are listening to servicemen and identifying needs, but we need to constantly poke the government in the ribs and remind them that it is also their responsibility.'

Two years ago, the government got a rather sharp poke in the ribs when the campaign Honour the Covenant was launched by the Royal British Legion. Gendall views it as the work of which he is most proud. The campaign, which is ongoing, calls on the government to honour its life-long duty of care to those who make a unique commitment to their country.

The army doctrine publication describes the 'military covenant between the nation, the army and each individual soldier' as 'an unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility that has sustained the army and its soldiers throughout history'.

COVENANT'S SUCCESSES

The campaign forced the Ministry of Defence and defence ministers to acknowledge the Covenant's existence. It has already led to myriad changes in the benefits available for veterans.

'Where the government doesn't deliver on its promises, it should not ask a charity to do so,' says Gendall. 'We have always been campaigning but the Covenant took the Legion back to its roots.'

The Royal British Legion's latest campaign, Return to Rationing?, focuses on the fact that more than 384,000 retired ex-service adults live on incomes of less than £10,000 per year. 'We want Council Tax Benefits to be rebranded as rebates because former servicemen will not go and ask for benefits,' he says. 'There is a stigma about it.'

The Poppy Appeal, which runs from October until November 11, is the Royal British Legion's most visible work. In recent years, the charity has used the poppy to rebrand its range of services, such as Poppy Homes, Poppy Grants and Poppy Support. 'We are changing the image of the Legion,' says Gendall. 'People identify with the poppy.'

But he has also worked hard to broaden the appeal of the poppy. Like many charities, Gendall has embraced the digital age. It opened a site on virtual world Second Life, for example, with a Cenotaph and remembrance service. 'I heard about a quadriplegic chap who said that it was the first time he had somewhere to go on November 11,' says Gendall. It is also possible to download poppies onto mobile phones, and last year the charity offered a two minute silence for supporters to download, listen and feel that they were participating in the service of remembrance. 'We found that we didn't have a recording of the two minute silence,' says Gendall. 'We had to use one from the Festival of Remembrance, which had people coughing and shuffling and the noise of poppies dropping onto hats.' But supporters found the experience oddly moving, complimenting the charity on getting the sound of falling poppies exactly right.

SOCIAL MEDIA USED

Poppy Man, described by Gendall as 'the strong silent type', has his own Facebook page, and last year more than 100,000 of his 'friends' sent poppies to their friends. 'We are looking this year at Twitter. Our activities are designed to engage the public, and also to engage young people to talk about what we do,' says Gendall. Combined with an educational programme for schools, this is working. Brand recognition among young people is rising.

Gendall is as committed today as when he arrived six years ago. But last year he went to Basra to launch the Poppy Appeal, and his enthusiasm rose further. 'It makes you understand even more the importance of the work that we do. You see the conditions that the soldiers are living in and the camps that they sleep in, and it makes you empathise. It gives you a new respect for their work, and it makes you think of the Legion and what we can do to help,' says Gendall.

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