New venue for Legion’s annual conference day (From Wiltshire Times)

New venue for Legion’s annual conference day

12:00pm Saturday 12th January 2013 in Trowbridge

Wiltshire's Royal British Legion branches will hold their county conference at Trowbridge’s Civic Centre for the first time tomorrow.

Representatives of the 52 branches will attend the annual event, which will be opened by at 11am by Trow-bridge Mayor John Knight and run until 3pm.

The Royal British Legion delegates will be planning activities for the area this year.

Trowbridge Royal British Legion parade marshal Brian Mitchell said: “The event is very similar to an AGM for a company. The day consists of a couple of speeches and then we outline our plans for the coming year.

“I’m very proud we have got it in Trowbridge, as it has been in Warminster for the last couple of years and I think it is nice to have it in our county town.

“We’ve managed to get the event sponsored by Wiltshire Farm Foods and I think their backing is what helped us secure the conference in Trowbridge.”

There will also be an awards ceremony, with prizes and certificates.

County chairman Mike Swabey said: “The conference is one of the major events in the Royal British Legion’s year. Everyone is really looking forward to it and the refurbishments to the Civic Centre have made it a very prestigious venue.”

Motions backed tomorrow will be presented to the organisation’s national conference in Llandudno this May.

Legion county president Sir Jack Deverell will be one of the speakers tomorrow. Last weekend, it was revealed that Sir Jack, 67, is to be part of Britain’s first private navy in almost two centuries.

The former commander-in-chief of North Europe’s Allied Forces is a director of Typhon, which is recruiting 240 ex-marines and sailors to take on Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.