Charity DVD range to help Royal British Legion

A DVD range is set to bring in money for armed forces charity The Royal British Legion, thanks to a team-up between the organisation and Universal Pictures (UK).

The collection, released May 12th, will see a 50p donation from every DVD sale given to the Legion over the course of a year.

It features movies linked to the subject of armed conflict, for example Birdsong, All Quiet on the Western Front, Born on the Fourth of July, Green Zone and Sands of Iwo Jima.

It is hoped that all together, £25,000 will be raised for the charity through the scheme, with each of the DVDs carrying a retail price of £5.

As part of activity around the announcement, several ex-servicemen were involved in an event near London's Cenotaph, wearing uniforms from various periods of history, including the First World War and the Second World War.

"The Royal British Legion was founded by British veterans in the aftermath of the First World War and a century on, those serving in the Armed Forces, veterans and their families still call on us for help with almost every aspect of daily life," commented Charles Byrne, director of fundraising for the Royal British Legion.

He expressed the charity's gratitude to Universal for the film company's support and donations through the DVD initiative.

Mr Byrne explained that the cash gathered through the project is going to give crucial support to people who are currently serving and have in the past, as well as their families – helping them with things like disability, bereavement and finding a job.

As he said, these are the same issues that people who fought in World War One were facing after the conflict ended in the early 20th century.

Other well-known films included in the new initiative are Jarhead, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx and first released in 2005, and One of Our Aircraft is Missing, a far less recent film released while the Second World War was still being fought, and starring Godfrey Tearle.