AN international charity which raises funds for needy ex-service personnel has quashed suggestions that money raised on the island will not be used locally.

And the Royal British Legion also insists that former military personnel can benefit from funds it collects in other jurisdictions worldwide ¿ rather than be limited to cash collected by a local organisation on the island. The London-based RBL made the announcement yesterday after local group the Bermuda War Veterans Association placed an advert in The Royal Gazette last Friday.

The full-page ad implied that the international organisation was attempting to sabotage local fundraising efforts by refusing to allow the BWVA to hand out RBL poppies to the public in return for donations. It also insinuated that, under RBL regulations, money raised locally would have to be sent back to the RBL's UK headquarters rather than be spent locally.

In the past, the BWVA has received an annual consignment of poppies from London ¿ but otherwise has always remained separate from the international group. But last year the RBL announced that that longstanding arrangement had been an oversight and that affiliates had to account for how they spend funds.

It also argued that, under the RBL mandate, all service personnel are entitled to a range of benefits ¿ the BWVA restricts its membership to those who served in combat zones. As a result, many Bermudian volunteers who defended the island against the threat of invasion during the Second World War are not entitled to any financial assistance from the BWVA.

Because of the BWVA's more restrictive mandate, the RBL has now refused to send any of its poppies to the island outfit and instead will run a separate fundraising campaign with the help of local representative Carol Everson.

The BWVA advert, addressed to "our members and the Bermuda public", reads in part: "Last year during the first week of October when placing our order for poppies with the Royal British Legion we were informed that this practice could not continue. They stated that they had appointed Ms Carol Elverson [sic] as their official representative in Bermuda and as such she would supply us with the poppies, collect the proceeds of their sale and forward the funds to the Royal British Legion in London for deposit in their central fund. As poppies represent about 20 per cent of our revenue we were not prepared to accept these terms."

The advert went on to say that, after meetings with the Commander of the Regiment and the Deputy Governor the BWVA was able to obtain poppies from the Canadian Legion ¿ and that the RBL also eventually decided to provide the BWVA with poppies.

"However, this was not the end," the advert continued.

"In a letter dated 17th September 2007, from Mr. David H Green, Regional Organiser of the Royal British Legion to our President, Mr Frank Farmer (pictured), we were informed that the Legion had withdrawn its direct support for the BWVA.

"It was a very caustic letter full of very erroneous statements about our operation compared to theirs. I have been involved with administration of the BWVA for over 20 years and have yet to see a single piece of literature from TRBL explaining their objectives other than their receipts for poppies purchased from them.

"They have again reminded us that Ms Carol Elverson has been appointed as the Legion's Poppy Appeal Organiser in Bermuda as well as having been trained as a caseworker for Legion welfare work and as such we are advised to obtain our poppy appeal supplies from them and to pass the funds raised to Ms. Elverson.

"We have informed Mr. Green that we have no intention of using their poppies nor do we intend to use the services of Ms Elverson either as an organiser or caseworker. We doubt that she gained any knowledge during the month she spent with the Royal British Legion that would be useful to us bearing in mind that we have been running our organisation now for some 84 years.

"As a result of these actions by Government, the Regiment and Mrs. Elverson we are now faced with the prospect of two poppy sales. We therefore appeal to all Bermudians who helped us in the past years to come forward again and support our appeal so that we can continue to support our veterans and their dependents."

But yesterday the RBL hit back, stressing that all money raised by the RBL on island was guaranteed to be used for the welfare of Bermuda's ex-servicemen and women.

A spokesman pointed out that, although the RBL requests that any funds raised as a result of its poppy appeal had to be accounted for by head office ¿ every overseas affiliate was guaranteed to keep its own proceeds for its own use. Apart from filing annual accounts, the BWVA, as an autonomous, independent organisation, does not have to explain how it uses its funds.

The spokesman also added that many larger branches of the international charity collected more funds than they required ¿ and that these were pooled and made accessible to smaller jurisdictions such as Bermuda. As a result, not only would Bermuda be guaranteed to keep any funds raised here, war veterans could ask for ¿ and more than likely receive ¿ additional funding.

And he said that many more Bermudians would be eligible for funds raised in this year's RBL campaign drive because it was far more inclusive. The BWVA insists that only servicemen who served in war zones are eligible for financial aid and as a result, is currently assisting just 14 Bermudian ex-servicemen.

The RBL spokesman said: "The Legion has an accredited Poppy Appeal Organiser in Bermuda, Carol Everson, a trained case worker who will ensure that the money raised by the Poppy Appeal will be collected transparently and efficiently. All money raised by Ms Everson on behalf of The Royal British Legion will remain in Bermuda for the benefit of the Bermudian ex-Service community. Ms Everson will also be able to draw further funds from the Legion, if required, to support the needy in the Bermudian ex-Service community.

"The Bermuda War Veterans Association (BWVA) charter, which is publicly available, applies restrictive criteria regards to the delivery of welfare support to the Bermuda ex-Service community. This is in conflict with the aims and objectives of The Royal British Legion, as set out in its Royal Charter. The Legion believes it is inappropriate for the WVA to be involved in its Poppy Appeal in Bermuda. It has asked the WVA not to employ Legion poppies to raise funds. The WVA was informed about the Legion's decision, by letter, in September 2006.

"Royal British Legion poppies are never sold or purchased. We ask only that a donation is given, and in return we provide the donor with a poppy."