The Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League was founded in 1921 in Cape Town, South Africa, as the British Empire Services League by Field Marshal Earl Haig

Earl Haig

Earl Haig is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the World War I, he was Commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium...

 and Field Marshal Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts

Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...

 in order to link together ex-service

Ex-service

Ex-service is a British term which refers to those who have served in the British Empire or Commonwealth Armed Forces. Earlier, the term ex-servicemen or Ex-servicewomen was used, but has been replaced with one having no gender connotations....

 organizations from throughout the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. It was renamed the British Commonwealth Ex-Services League (BCEL) in 1958 and then the Commonwealth Ex-Services League (CEL) in 2002. The appellation "Royal" was granted by royal assent

Royal Assent

The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

 in 2003. The RCEL has 57 member organizations from 47 Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations.

The RCEL's affiliates include:

• The Royal Canadian Legion
  Royal Canadian Legion
  The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
  
   (founded as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League)
• Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association
  Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association
  The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, often referred to as the Returned Services' Association but best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world.Wounded soldiers...
  
  
• Returned and Services League of Australia
  Returned and Services League of Australia
  The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
  
  
• The Royal British Legion
  The Royal British Legion
  The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...
  
  
• Indian Ex-Services League
• South African Legion of Military Veterans

External links

• Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League
• RCEL: For Service And Honour by Jennifer Morse published in Legion Magazine, November 1, 2008.
• http://www.commonwealthveterans.org.uk/index.cfm?asset_id=1390