At the time of writing, the geopolitical backdrop includes the ongoing war in Ukraine with a broader conflict in the Middle East, centred on Iran and Lebanon, with all its ramifications impacting countries across the world. This makes it even more remarkable that between us, the League continues to provide lifesaving support to those who served the Crown many years ago. We have not forgotten them and for these veterans and their widows, living in poverty, our support makes a huge difference. Not only to their health and diet, but to their wellbeing. This is a truly positive contribution in a world currently confronting increasing uncertainty and conflict.

A highlight of the past year was Chairing the very successful 35th Conference in Ottawa in late June and early July 2025. I am most grateful to the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) for their exceptional support, as our hosts, for the Conference. Amongst others, I thank Larry Murray, RCL Grand President, Berkley Lawrence, the Dominion President and Randy Hayley, National Executive Director. RCL invested considerable time, effort and money facilitating and delivering a truly memorable experience for all the delegates. I also thank all those who made the trip to Ottawa, many travelling great distances to participate. There will be more coverage later in the Annual Report but I, like many who were present, felt privileged to hold our Remembrance Service at the National War Memorial amongst other highlights including the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel ceremony, the visit to the Senate of Canada hosted by Black Rod, and of course the participation of Her Excellency The Governor General of Canada.

Key decisions which emerged from the Conference were agreement to apply for a further extension, from April 2027 to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Commonwealth Veterans Programme. Our main effort during 2026 is to secure ideally a further 3-year extension to 2030. Rest assured that the League will do everything it can do to positively influence the outcome. The desire to support our veterans and widows ‘to their end’, the mid-2030’s, was also clearly articulated. This necessitates a change in our approach both in how the League utilises our portfolio of funds and maintains the resilience of our network of Member Organisations over a longer period than we previously envisaged.

I’m delighted to share with you that in March, I, along with the Deputy Grand President and the Secretary General were honoured to be invited to an audience with our Patron, His Majesty The King. We were able to update His Majesty on the history of the League, current operations and our plans for the future of the charity. It was an excellent meeting, and our Patron has a clear understanding of our current and future position.

Of course, it is the veterans and widows who we, together, support that are and always will be the unifying focus of the League. It is right that at the Conference we celebrated our 104 years commitment to them and their service while fully recognising the passionate commitment of our Member Organisations.

None of this would be possible without our generous supporters, particularly those that make up the Commonwealth Veterans Review Committee: The Royal British Legion, Greenwich Hospital, The Army Benevolent Fund and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. They have stood shoulder to shoulder with us over many years providing both moral and financial support which has and always will be invaluable.