The Royal British Legion provides welfare to the entire Armed Forces family, along with providing support

to their dependants. The Legion also campaigns on a range of social issues affecting ex-service personnel and their families. The Royal British Legion is one of the UK 's largest membership organisations and around 9.5 million people, are also eligible for both financial and practical support. In total nearly 1.4 million a week is spent, helping those in the greatest need. To celebrate 90 years since the founding of the Royal British Legion, on Saturday October 22nd, the Chorlton-C-Hardy branch of the RBL organised an open day, where there was a variety of information stalls and displays, which promoted the many welfare and medical services that are available to support Manchesters ex-service personnel. Other Veteran services present on the day included Combat Stress, St Dunstans & the National Gulf War Veterans and Families Association. For almost a century, St Dunstans have been giving invaluable physical and emotional support to blind and visually impaired ex-Service men and women. With the help of their unique expertise, experience and comprehensive range of services, St Dunstan's enable Britain's ex-services to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Combat Stress is the UK's leading military charity specialising in the care of Veterans' mental health. Combat Stress look after men and women who are suffering from a psychological condition related to their Service career. Combat Stress have a current caseload of more than 4,600 individuals including 168 Afghanistan and 533 Iraq Veterans. The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association (NGVFA) was established as a registered charity in March 1999. After returning from Gulf War 1 (90-91), service personnel developed illnesses and could not understand why. Many told their stories in local and national newspapers, and began to realise how wide-spread and common the problems were amongst Gulf Veterans.