Royal British Legion says raising awareness of its big investment in Invictus Games is key
The director general of the Royal British Legion (RBL) has said raising awareness of his charity’s financial commitment to supporting UK involvement in the Invictus Games is crucial. The RBL has funded the travel, accommodation, training camps and equipment as well as in-Games support with physios and other specialists for 62 UK competitors and their families. Mark Atkinson, who has been in charge of RBL for a year, spoke to BFBS Forces News in Whistler, Canada, where the 2025 Invictus Games are being co-hosted alongside Vancouver.
Mr Atkinson said the RBL’s support for the Invictus Games was a really big commitment and people needed to know what happens when they buy a poppy each November. As the delivery partner to Team UK, which is made up of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, RBL provides wraparound support to competitors in the build-up to the Invictus Games as well as during and after.
Mr Atkinson said everyone in Team UK has a recovery plan that doesn’t end when the Games do, stating: “We continue to work with these people to support their recovery.” He did not reveal how much money RBL spent on the Invictus Games specifically, but said it represented a big investment. “People support us through the Poppy Appeal, through other fundraising, so we can support people in the Armed Forces community,” he explained. “So whether people are serving today, whether they are regulars or reservists, or whether they are veterans and their families, that’s why people give their money to us.
“In a sense, the Legion’s just passing the money on.
“From the people who buy the poppy at the train station each year, it comes to the Legion and we use that to support Team UK and other activities throughout the year.”
Asked whether enough people in the UK knew about the RBL’s support for things like the Invictus Games, the director general said it was their responsibility to make sure people did.He explained: “That’s our job, to make sure that when they support the Royal British Legion, when people buy and wear a poppy, of course, it is supporting us to go to D-Day, to remember the brilliant service of 80 years ago. “But it’s also supporting men and women who have been serving today and much more recently. “So I think we have got to keep raising awareness amongst the public that Invictus UK, Invictus Games, the team we are supporting, that’s a real core part of what the Legion does.”
The 2025 Invictus Games are the first to include winter sports since Prince Harry co-founded the biennial competition in 2014. Looking ahead to the next Games, which will be held in 2027 in Birmingham, Mr Atkinson agreed the organisers had “big shoes to fill” after the fantastic Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
He added: “The Legion will be there supporting Team UK, doing everything possible to make sure the men and women who have served and who are on a recovery journey have got everything they need to get back on their feet.”