Whither the Royal Canadian Legion? Or RCL Withers?

[Eye In The Sky]

I think the point is something we all have complained about. The the legion is no longer run by veterans for veterans in many regions. Instead it's people who's uncles etc... served and then make the decisions for the organization to serve vets. Is this a blanket statement that isn't 100% accurate? Sure but the legion is dying a slow death because it is out of touch with the modern vet/service member who are refusing to join because they are looked down upon and ostracized by the old guard in many legions.

And, the old guard are the local whose uniformed service might have amounted to a uniform with the Golden Arches on it in their teens and the Bingo Committee.

I loathe few org's in Canada like I do the Legion.

 

[OldSolduer]

My operational experience was only in reference to being asked "You're one of the new Afghan Vets we're trying to attract, why aren't you and you buddies coming to the bridge tournament?"

There is the problem - or at least part of it - right there. Young troops are not attracted by bridge tourneys nor darts nor euchre or pool. They aren't into meat draws. Nor do they want to sport blazers and grey slacks with a floppy blue beret. That right there drives many of them away, yours truly included.
The areas surrounding Winnipeg have the local legions. Stonewall comes to mind as it is part of that community and it is thriving. Other places not so much.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Most service clubs, like the RCL, are in decline....

Crumbling Communities: Declining Service Club Membership​

Declining membership rates, halting revenue and the sale of historic buildings. The media’s focus on Remembrance Day has brought the struggling state of Royal Canadian Legion membership into the light once again. Ontario Legion membership has declined almost 15% in the past 5 years and many previously vibrant branches have closed their doors or relocated to more affordable locations.

This decline in Legion membership can be at least partially attributed to the aging World War II and Korean War veterans. Many older veterans have passing away and there simply is not the same number of new veterans. However, veterans from recent wars are simply not flocking to their local Legion like their predecessors did.

This decrease in membership isn’t unique to the Legion. Many service clubs such as the Lions Club, Orange Lodge, Elks, Kiwanis etc have all seen a similar decline. Each of these service organizations has a unique history. However, service club membership as a whole has tended to wax and wane based on political, economic and social conditions of the era.

Crumbling Communities: Declining Service Club Membership

The development of service clubs in Canada and the current decline of membership in these once vibrant community organizations.

activehistory.ca

 

[dimsum]

However, veterans from recent wars are simply not flocking to their local Legion like their predecessors did.

Also, let's not forget that there are simply not as many recent vets, due to the smaller size of the present-day CAF.

 

[brihard]

The Legion is a brick and mortar entity. RCL activity is focused around individual physical branches. Younger veterans are likely to congregate over social media; you no longer have to go to a physical place to keep some cameraderie with whoever else shows up that happens to have served. Now they can do a lot of the same on Facebook or Instagram, or, hell, in online gaming groups (I know some vets who do their ‘buddy time’ and check ins by playing Call of Duty together).

The RCL does amazing work through the service officers and poppy fund. Unfortunately, local branches are super hit or miss, and we just don’t have the same huge veterans cohort that we used to. What we do have isn’t as reliant on an in-person watering hole.

 

[kev994]

This is not a new problem. My grandfather also despised the legion, apparently they weren’t interested in having Korean War vets around either. He served 35 years in the CAF and then another 20+ as a DND public servant.

 

[mariomike]

Younger veterans are likely to congregate over social media;

Seems to be the way younger people congregate now. Even for dating.

My father didn't go to the Legion. But, travelled all over Canada for WW2 RCN Engine Room Articifer Appentice re-unions.
He joined in 1943 when he was 17, so maybe it reminded him of his youth.

I need "a brick and mortar entity". Especially when getting together with guys you have known for 50 years. Looking forward to our Christmas party next month.

I think the legions used to have Christmas parties. Not sure if they still do?

 

[Halifax Tar]

This is not a new problem. My grandfather also despised the legion, apparently they weren’t interested in having Korean War vets around either. He served 35 years in the CAF and then another 20+ as a DND public servant.

Let's also on forget the RCLs support for the New Veterans Charter when it came out in 2006.

I think their public support for this new, at the time, legislation was seen as real stab in the back by many of the newer generation of Vets and service members.

Admittedly it's been a while, but I think that's accurate.

 

[dapaterson]

My local Legion, on a major thoroughfare with many restaurants and bars, opens its dank second floor walkup noon to six pm, five days a week.

The main floor has a chipped parquet floor and peeling paint, in a hall they intermittently rent out.

They have every opportunity to improve and reach out to the community and make money to support causes, but choose not to.

 

[Halifax Tar]

And, the old guard are the local whose uniformed service might have amounted to a uniform with the Golden Arches on it in their teens and the Bingo Committee.

I loathe few org's in Canada like I do the Legion.

Like you I despise the the wreath shmozzle.

We are lucky in Halifax in that there are lots of memorials.

I would like to get some from our generation together and maybe we can go do our own thing on Nov 11th. Just for us and our families.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

This is not a new problem. My grandfather also despised the legion, apparently they weren’t interested in having Korean War vets around either.

That is true.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Like you I despise the the wreath shmozzle.

We are lucky in Halifax in that there are lots of memorials.

I would like to get some from our generation together and maybe we can go do our own thing on Nov 11th. Just for us and our families.

So, do what everyone accuses the old Legion of doing, excluding some vets based on their age and when and where they served? That's the spirit!

 

[Halifax Tar]

So, do what everyone accuses the old Legion of doing, excluding some vets based on their age and when and where they served? That's the spirit!

Well, we're having trouble being welcomed into the established organizations.

So why not go out own way ? And have our own gathering.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

The Legion is a brick and mortar entity. RCL activity is focused around individual physical branches. Younger veterans are likely to congregate over social media; you no longer have to go to a physical place to keep some cameraderie with whoever else shows up that happens to have served. Now they can do a lot of the same on Facebook or Instagram, or, hell, in online gaming groups (I know some vets who do their ‘buddy time’ and check ins by playing Call of Duty together).

The RCL does amazing work through the service officers and poppy fund. Unfortunately, local branches are super hit or miss, and we just don’t have the same huge veterans cohort that we used to. What we do have isn’t as reliant on an in-person watering hole.

That “social media” congregation sounds alot like Army.ca…..

 

[brihard]

That “social media” congregation sounds alot like Army.ca…..

I suppose we’re one of many small venues. On Facebook you’ll find a few dozen fairly large groups (many oriented around specific branches, regiments, etc) and a whole bunch of smaller ones. Some of these groups sort of do some of the service work that traditional veterans groups have done, others provide specialized knowledge in certain things (e.g., there’s a fantastic group for supporting medical releases).

Cracking a beer or two, and hopping on Call of Duty for a couple hours with a handful of guys you deployed with could be, for many, their version of meeting at the Legion hall for card games.

 

[dapaterson]

Cracking a beer or two, and hopping on Call of Duty for a couple hours with a handful of guys you deployed with could be, for many, their version of meeting at the Legion hall for card games.

That's absurd.

Where's the meat raffle?

 

[RangerRay]

That's absurd.

Where's the meat raffle?

And what about the ladies? Who’s in the back making the sandwiches?

 

[dimsum]

And what about the ladies? Who’s in the back making the sandwiches?

"Hmm, why are female veterans not wanting to join the Legion?"

- someone, probably

 

[Kilted]

"Hmm, why are female veterans not wanting to join the Legion?"

- someone, probably

Women can join as ordinary members, they don't have to be members of the LA.

 

[quadrapiper]

My local Legion, on a major thoroughfare with many restaurants and bars, opens its dank second floor walkup noon to six pm, five days a week.

The main floor has a chipped parquet floor and peeling paint, in a hall they intermittently rent out.

They have every opportunity to improve and reach out to the community and make money to support causes, but choose not to.

Don't know the dynamic of that street, but event spaces in an entertainment district should be pretty hard to keep empty, especially for the sort of gig where you turn off most of the lights for most of the night, feed the crowd bar-grade liquor, and let the band or DJ rip.

Haven't been around them for a few years, but the Sooke Legion seems to be an outlier: the user base skewing older, but with, by observation, a healthy ongoing influx of CAF recently-retireds. Fairly regular and well-subscribed live music and other open-door events. That said, it's in an unusual location, just isolated enough not to be entirely outcompeted as a social venue by commercial entities, but close enough to Esquimalt to enjoy an outsize by modern standards pool of current and retired pers in its neighbourhood. Not sure how their charters work, but the RCL might want to look at shuttering everything that can't at least demonstrate ongoing appeal to 50 year old current or former members.