RSL Sub Branch’s across New England have experienced a notable increase in membership over the last year, with Tamworth, Inverell and Mungindi seeing the largest increases thanks to a new initiative.
Data shared with the New England Times shows the Tamworth RSL Sub Branch has welcomed 21 new members this year, 66 last year, and 115 over the past five years.
Both Inverell and Mungindi RSL Sub Branch’s welcomed 15 new members in 2023, the second largest increase among all the groups in the New England area.
Overall, the region’s sub branches have experienced a 41% surge in membership.
The president of Tamworth’s RSL Sub Branch, David Howells said dozens of new members have come forward thanks in part to a shift in the meeting format. RSL NSW dropping annual fees for members, and a few other changes have also contributed.
According to David, the introduction of social meetings, as opposed to “talkfest meetings,” has made an enormous difference. As a result, the membership just “keeps growing.”
“In the social meetings, we go and do something outdoorsy, in March we went out to the Manilla fishing club and had a picnic with the sub branch out there,” he said.
“We had over 55 people turn up for that; in a normal meeting, we would be lucky to even get 25 people.”
Sub Branch Activities Great for Networking Between Veterans
David says the change of tact began about two years ago, but it comes under the wider RSL Sport and Recreation Program, which was first unveiled in July 2023. The program encourages sub branch’s to organise and lead activities, both sport and recreation focused.
Tamworth started a monthly coffee catch up on Saturdays and extended an open invitation for veterans’ families to accompany them to all meetings and activities.
Younger veterans especially have responded positively, and David says it has really reinforced the idea RSL is for everyone in a veterans’ family, not just the person who served.
“It’s been a great way of networking for veterans and meeting people with similar interests and experiences as well,” David said.
“When we started doing these little meet ups, we had a member who was interested in training her dog to be an assistant animal.”
“She met someone who has his own assistance dog and who also trains them.”
“After meeting this person, she now has a fully trained assistance dog.”
Inverell RSL Sub Branch Gets a Membership Bump Too
Inverell’s RSL Sub Branch has also experienced an uptick in new members.
Honorary Secretary Nathan Gibbs told the New England Times his branch’s success in attracting members has come largely from the RSL Sport and Recreation Program.
“We have had a lot of members coming through, which is fantastic. We’ve had 23 new members since 2022, with age groups from 32 to 85, and everyone from Vietnam veterans to Afghanistan veterans,” he said.
“The goal is to get new members through, but at the moment, we are trying to develop awareness so that veterans know we are there to help. This sport and rec program has been great for that, getting awareness out there.”
According to Nathan, Inverell adopted aspects of the program about three months ago and have since “grabbed it by the horns,” and run with it, holding coffee and cake meetups every fortnight. Grander plans are in the pipeline though.
“So far, everything we are doing is working great; we have had three new members walk through the door in the last few weeks,” said Nathan.
“We are holding meetups every second Wednesday at the moment, but we are working on organising more activities, golf days, and an inter-branch bowls day.”
Nathan has been part of the Inverell Sub Branch for over a year. He served in the Australian Army for 12 years and is still relatively fresh out of the Defence Forces and says the addition of families to RSL activities has been a game changer for everyone involved.
“I know my family has been a rock for me, and it will be really great to be able to get them in and do some events together,” said Nathan.
“The younger generations of veterans coming through, you still rely on your family for support, to get through certain things.”
“So, to get them involved, have that support network with you while you connect with other veterans and seek out that sense of camaraderie is making a big difference,” Nathan added.
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