THE Okehampton branch of the Royal British Legion and the legion's social club will hold their 2014 annual meetings on Friday, November 21 in the Legion Social Club on Station Road, Okehampton, starting at 8pm.

The branch meeting, open to all branch members, will be followed by the social club annual meeting. It is hoped both events will be well supported by both branch and club members, thus demonstrating their continued support of the Royal British Legion.

The Okehampton Branch of the Royal British Legion continues to maintain a healthy membership. The recent affiliation of the Okehampton Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps detachments to the branch has already encouraged more younger people to join and carry on the work of the Royal British Legion and thus secure the branch's future.

Anyone is eligible to join the Royal British Legion. Service in the Armed Forces is not a pre-requisite. All that is needed is a strong interest in helping with the pursuit of the legion's aims, such as to provide welfare assistance to both current and former service personnel and their dependants.

With an increasing number of veterans experiencing welfare issues and health problems both physical and mental, the RBL's resources are stretched further than before. The group aims to encourage public awareness of the help it provides to the men and women who serve their country in the services.

Both meetings will provide details of the activities of the past year and future intentions, as well as reports on the accounts and the appointment of branch and club officers.

Items for consideration and discussion at the branch meeting should be submitted in writing to the branch secretary by no later than Friday, November 14. Items for the club meeting should be submitted to the club secretary by the same date.

For more information on the Royal British Legion, visit http://www.rblokehampton.org.uk">www.rblokehampton.org.uk or call into the club on Station Road.