Haig Fund

FIELD MARSHAL Earl Haig, the British commander-in-chief, founded the Earl Haig Fund in Scotland in 1921. It is a registered charity in Great Britain that has the aim of providing help in time of need to any man or woman (or their dependents) who served in the armed forces of the United Kingdom.

The Haig Fund Scotland raises money through the sale of Scottish poppy flowers. The use of poppies was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row” by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, one of the “trench poets” who was killed in World War I. The Scottish Poppy Appeal takes place every November during the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday, when tribute is paid to those who fell in battle. Since World War I ended on November 11, the Scottish Poppy Appeal takes place at that [Page 457]time. The week leading to Remembrance Sunday is a time for services at war memorials. It is also a time in which an army of volunteers takes to the streets with collection containers to raise money from the public. Approximately 1,000 leaders organize the appeal. They supervise 10,000 volunteers who each place seven collection containers in places where the public can donate. In 2004 the Scottish Poppy Appeal raised over £1.4 million with collection containers handled in the streets or placed in churches.

In addition to the Poppy Appeal, the Haig Fund also accepts donations, legacies that the fund is allowed to inherit, and Gift Aid, which is a provision of the law that allows the fund to receive an additional 28 pence from the Inland Revenue for each pound sterling that is donated. It is a matching grant in which income taxes are used to match donations.

The monies raised through the Scottish Poppy Appeal are used to provide financial assistance to former servicepeople or their dependents in Scotland. The fund meets financial difficulties by helping with needs such as food, utility bills, wheelchairs, or even debts. Over half of the sums expended go to the wives, widows, or orphans of those who served.

The fund also provides sheltering employment for ex-servicepeople. The Lady Haig's Poppy Factory, founded by Lady Haig, is located in Edinburgh. It employs 24 disabled ex-servicepeople who assemble the Scottish poppies and wreaths used during the Scottish Poppy Appeal.

The Haig Fund has supported a retirement home for ex-servicepeople for 50 years, the Flanders House in Glasgow. The home was closed at the end of September 2005 because it no longer met the standards for serving the handicapped. To provide a new retirement home, the Board of the Haig Fund joined with Erskine, which is a Scottish charity that provides specialist care for ex-service personnel, to build a new retirement home that will be located on Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow. Earl Haig also established Haig Homes, a separate organization that provides homes for veterans. The Royal British Legion Scotland Pensions Department is entirely funded by the Earl Haig Fund Scotland. It helps ex-servicepeople apply for pensions and other benefits, especially for service-related injury or sickness.

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