Royal Canadian Legion Branch 582 - Cooksville

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The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of members and also affiliated members. History:

In Canada, several veterans organizati

ons emerged during WWI. The Great War Veterans Association, founded in 1917, was the first national organization for veterans, and by 1919 it was the largest veterans organization in Canada. Following WWI, 15 different organizations existed to aid returning veterans in Canada. Field Marshal Earl Haig, founder of the British Empire Service League (now known as the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League), visited Canada in 1925 and urged the organizations to merge. In the same year, the Dominion Veterans Alliance was created to unite these organizations. In November of 1925, the Canadian Legion was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League. The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League was incorporated by a special act of parliament the following year. The Legion grew steadily through the 1930s and then expanded rapidly following WWII. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II granted the Legion royal patronage and it became the Royal Canadian Legion.