‘Times have changed’: The first Legion branch reflects on 100 years of service

Allison Bamford reports from the first Legion branch in Saskatchewan that has now been open for a full century, serving the community since its inception.

The Royal Canadian Legion is marking 100 years of supporting veterans and serving communities.

The Legion was born in the wake of the First World War and was officially incorporated in July 1926. That same year, Regina Branch No. 1 became the first branch of the Royal Canadian Legion to receive a charter.

“Times have changed,” Regina Legion Branch 001 Vice-President, Anthony Walsh said.

“A majority of our membership now are civilians or descendants of veterans, but they aren’t veterans or current serving military personnel.”

Legions started out as places of camaraderie where veterans of the First and Second World Wars could share their stories and feel supported. They still hold that element today, Walsh told CTV News.

“(The Legion) is still relevant. It’s still providing that necessary cushion and support for our veterans, their families (and) their descendants,” he said.

Over the years, their outreach has expanded.

Walsh, and other Legion members, now do a lot of work in schools to engage the youth and promote remembrance. It’s one of his favourite parts of the gig.

“At the end of the day, we as a society have to remember the sacrifices that our men and women paid,” Walsh said.

This week, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled collectors’ coins to recognize the Legion’s 100^th anniversary.

The Regina branch is planning centennial celebrations for November, while the official 100^th anniversary will be marked in July.

More than 1,350 branches remain active across the country even though financial challenges, high rent and dwindling membership plague many of them.

Just last week a branch in Nova Scotia had to close its doors.

The Regina branch was staring down a similar fate a few years ago.

“The leanest period was just before COVID-19, and then we closed right down during COVID-19,” said Branch Sergeant-at-Arms, Henry Sobchyshyn. “We had to start all over again in 2022.”

Today, Sobchyshyn says the branch is the strongest it’s been in a decade with 400 members and growing.

It’s far from the bustling nights in the 1960s, when he remembers the Legion halls being full of war veterans every night, but nonetheless “people are starting to come back.”

The non-profit had to get creative with fundraisers, crib and dart leagues, weekly dinners and building space in order to get back in the black.

They sold their building more than 10 years ago and now rent space from the buyer. Part of the building, including the two dance halls, was converted into a parkade. The branch leases half of the basement to an Italian café.

“It was a lot of work that they put in to get us where they are,” said Branch President Reid Hill, who joined the Legion around 10 years ago at the age of 27.

“It’s now a matter of getting younger people, like myself, interested in what we do.”

This year, the Legion is offering free registration for new members to kickstart growth for the turn of the century.

Hill says the branch competes for members with every other service club and organization in the city. At times, it can be challenging to explain to the public what they do because most of the work is centred around donations and bursaries.

“A lot of things we do, you’ll never see,” he said, adding that the Legion “isn’t just an old boys club.”

He’s encouraging young people to come to the branch to see what initiatives they offer and how they can help.

Most of their current veterans are in their late 20s to 40s. Hill said the branch is looking for volunteers that same age, who would meet up and listen to these veterans over a cup of coffee, for example.

“They need the help, and they need someone who may be able to speak their language and talk to, because they’re of the same age group,” he said.

Eventually, Hill wants to see more young people take over leadership roles within the Legion to help carry the organization into the next 100 years.