Rotary donates £25,000 to British Royal Legion

Watch brand Rotary has donated £25,000 to the Royal British Legion, made up from sales of its limited edition timepiece created to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The timepiece featured special details to commemorate the centenary, with the 11th hour and the 11th day “respectfully coloured red”, and an image of a poppy located at 12 o’clock and on the crown.

According to the watch brand, the “subtle details honour all those who bravely sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom”, and there were just 1918 individually numbered models available, to signify the end of the First World War.

Rotary presented a cheque with its donation of £25,000 generated via sales direct to trade at The Royal British Legion’s headquarters located in Borough on Friday 15 February. In addition to Rotary’s donation, its retail partner F. Hinds also donated £12,500, profits generated from sales of the watch in-store and online direct to consumers.

Peter McKenna, CEO of Rotary Watches, said: “We are really pleased that Rotary played some part in the success of the Thank You 2018 campaign. I am thrilled with the sell- out success of the Limited Edition timepiece and that our donation will support the insatiable work for the services community that the Royal British Legion provides”,

Andrew Hinds, of F Hinds Jewellers, added: “The opportunity to help was very poignant for us. My great uncle George died on the first day of the battle of the Somme and the story of our family business was changed forever.

“We were honoured to be invited by Rotary to help support the Royal British Legion as we never forget the sacrifice that George and millions of others made which has enabled us to live the fortunate lives we do today.”