On Saturday 17 September the Band of the Royal Air Force College joins with Worcester Male Voice Choir and the Cathedral boy choristers to celebrate the 90th anniversary of The Royal British Legion. The concert, starting at 7pm, is helping to raise £1 million in Warwickshire to support our Armed Forces community.
Also on display at the Cathedral will be the evocative Empty Chairs art installation by local artist Mike Yorke. This is an ever evolving artwork as each miniature chair represents a soldier lost in action in the conflict in Afghanistan.
Sebastian Hargreaves, The Legion’s County Manager in Warwickshire said, “Coventry Cathedral is an impressive back drop for this unique event and we are thrilled to be able to bring together the music of the Royal Air Force College band and the voices of these two exceptional choirs on this special evening. Both local and regional support for this event is crucial, not only to fill this incredible space but to raise money so that we can continue our work, particularly at this time, in support of the Afghan generation of the Armed Forces family.”
“Through money raised at the concert we are aiming to support The Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre, anew initiative which will be located in the West Midlands. This will be a national centre of excellence which will be part of the facilities offered by the Personal Recovery Centres. The Battle Back Centre will offer activity based rehabilitation to help wounded, injured and sick Armed Forces personnel regain their fitness and return to duty, or reskill and make a successful transition to civilian life. It is anticipated that the Centre will be operational in 2012”.
Since 1921, The Royal British Legion has provided practical, emotional and financial support to the Armed Forces Community. With the Poppy Appeal generating only half of the money needed to help our beneficiary community and having made a £50 million funding commitment to pay for The Royal British Legion Battle Back Centre and the operating costs of a wider Personnel Recovery Capability for ten years, continuing public support is vital.
Tickets for the Coventry Cathedral Concert are £12.50 and available from the Cathedral Visitor Centre or by phoning the Box Office on 024 7651 2210.