When our forefathers were busy fighting on the beaches, the landing grounds and in the fields and streets, few of them had time to muse on their gender identity. And it’s fair to surmise that during any conflict, the average soldier will be more focused on not being killed than on the question of whether khaki fatigues allow an individual to feel sufficiently genderfluid. But now the Royal British Legion (RBL) is raising awareness of the injustices suffered by the asexual, intersex and transgender communities with a new poppy badge.

For just £8 you too can wear your Pride poppy with pride. The badge features the traditional flower alongside the controversial Progress Pride flag. This assault on the eyeballs comprises a yellow triangle surrounding a purple circle (apparently to represent “intersex” conditions), three chevrons in the trans colours and two in black and brown (why people of all colours are assumed not to be included within the other categories is a mystery). The rainbow flag, which has for the past fifty years been a symbol used by homosexual people, forms the background.

On social media, RBL said the new design is a way to increase “LGBTQIA+ allyship and intersex visibility, and inclusion worldwide.” When mocked on X, RBL’s social media bunny said, “The decision to use this flag was made in consultation with members of the LGBTQIA+ AF [armed forces] community.”

“The + in LGBTQIA+ encompasses all forms of gender expressions,” chirped RBL, informing one gay man who raised concerns that, “The Q in LGBTQ+ stands for Queer or Questioning. Queer is a term used by those wanting to reject specific labels of romantic orientation, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Although some LGBT people view the word as a slur…”

It’s fair to say that the rollout of the design has gone about as well as the final voyage of the Bismarck, attracting criticism from people of all sexual orientations. For Kate Barker, CEO of LGB Alliance, it is a badge too far. “The Royal British Legion doesn’t know it yet,” she says: 

… but this badge symbolises the abuse that LGB servicemen and -women experienced for so many decades.

The ‘Progress Pride’ flag represents gays and lesbians being pushed out of their own movement by proponents of gender identity ideology. There are stark parallels with people forced to leave the armed forces in ‘disgrace’ and humiliation simply because they are attracted to the same sex.

Whatever one thinks of the Pride poppy, it is true that gay and lesbians in the armed forces before the turn of the century have yet to be properly compensated for the cruel discrimination they endured.

A review published in 2023 unearthed horror stories from some of the 1,145 homosexual veterans who shared their experiences. Led by Britain’s first openly gay judge, Lord Etherton, it revealed decades of bullying, assaults and expulsions of servicemen and women. Some were detained in military prisons and left with convictions for offences such as gross indecency, meaning they faced the same stigma as sex offenders. Rebuilding a life after such a dishonourable discharge takes a level of courage befitting a soldier. Yet they have been offered a paltry £12,500 in compensation.

While it is right that the RBL should advocate for these veterans, flogging gaudy identity badges sends entirely the wrong message.

Let’s be clear: transgenderism is a relatively modern concept; indeed, the term has only come into popular parlance in the past decade. And there is no evidence of routine discrimination against people with disorders of sexual development, represented on the badge as “intersex”. Nor has there been historic discrimination against people who consider themselves “asexuals”; refusing to kiss a comrade is hardly likely to lead to persecution. To lump lesbian, gay and bisexual people together with faddish identities is to do everyone a disservice.

RBL appears to have succumbed to mission creep, controversially advertising a post for a Head of Diversity and Inclusion to ensure diversity and inclusion is “woven” into the work of the organisation. Clearly, the post holder has been earning their £64,122 — £67,437 salary.

Perhaps this slide into identity politics is due to the pressure of finding new ways to stop the past falling from public consciousness, or maybe it’s simply the commercial imperative that goes with running a modern charity. Nevertheless, the Pride poppy is a trivial, faddish and divisive symbol.

As someone allergic to compelled displays of fealty of any sort, I admit to feeling uneasy about the scrutiny of public figures who opt not to wear a poppy. To my mind it’s the same thinking that leads to colleagues eyeing the one person in the office who opts not to include their pronouns in their email signature with suspicion. But where a choice is made freely, buying a poppy is a way to both commemorate those who have lost their lives on active service, and to give money to veterans in need. It ought to be an unsinkable brand.

Even in these fevered times when Churchill is commonly cast as a baddie, and antisemitism is back in vogue, the poppy remains sacred — a rare symbol of national unity and pride that is open to everyone who wishes to honour fallen soldiers, of whatever colour, religion, background or sexual orientation. The tawdry battle over badges has not been the RBL’s finest hour.