Poverty relief · Reg 1174874
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League
Charity rating & review
86/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Good
Quick answer
Is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League a good charity?
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League scores 86/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£3.0m total income, 98% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
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What does Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League do?
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League is a registered charity (no. 1174874) working in poverty relief across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 98% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 4 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been broadly stable over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
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In short: ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE scores 86 out of 100 (4 stars). 98% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.
What is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League?
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League has a Clarity Score of 86 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 1174874. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Poverty relief. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £3.0m, with 98% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 4 months of operating costs. No major red flags from our filing review. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
86/100
4★ · Good
Cause spend
98%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
93/100
Finance beacon
Income
£3.0m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
4 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£58.2 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 2% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE scores higher than.
Scores higher than 71% of 2,776 charities in its income band · 86/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 69% of 1,502 charities in this cause · 86/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).
How reliable is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
High confidence — complete filing data
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .
What is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's Beacon report?
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
93/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 10 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 70% | 7/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
67/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 4 months · 15/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 0% | 0/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 100% | 4% · 5/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 100% | 98% · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 100% | 2p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
90/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 90% | 15 volunteers / 8 staff · 9/10 pts |
What is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's Clarity Score?
86/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
93/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
67/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
90/100
How much does Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £3.0m | — |
| Total expenditure | £3.1m | — |
| Charitable activities | £3.0m | 98% |
| Fundraising | £57k | 2% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £3.1m spent
- Charitable activities98% · £3.0m
- Fundraising2% · £57k
What trust indicators does Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League have?
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
up to date · last filing
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
10 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
8 employees · 15 volunteers (2:1 volunteer-to-staff)
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 1174874
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- JEREMY MICHAEL ARCHER MA since 2017
- MAJOR GENERAL CHRISTOPHER HASLETT ELLIOTT since 2013
- ANDREW JOHN MARTIN since 2010
- EVELYN ANNE STROUTS since 2017
- Elisabeth Watkins since 2020
- Major General Gerald Ian Mitchell Chair · since 2020
- Michael John Winarick since 2024
- Paul Wesley Farquharson Chambers since 2024
- Lynda Susan Atkins since 2025
- Jason Peter Hazell since 2026
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.
How have Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's finances changed over five years?
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts
What are the key facts about Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League?
- Overall score
- 86/100 (4★)
- Income
- £3.0m
- Cause spend
- 98% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1174874
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 4 months
- Trustees
- 10
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- up to date
How does ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE compare, and where else can you look?
Where ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar poverty relief charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- AMOS TRUST 100/100 · £2.6m
- SUFRA - NW LONDON 100/100 · £1.7m
- WILDERNESS FOUNDATION UK 100/100 · £1.6m
- BIRMINGHAM CITY MISSION 100/100 · £1.4m
How can you share Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's rating?
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League a good charity? +
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League scores 86 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 98% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.
Is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League a legitimate charity? +
Yes — Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1174874). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1174874. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's charity number? +
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's charity number is 1174874. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.
What is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's charity rating? +
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League scores 86 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.
Does Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts. For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.
How much of my donation reaches Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 98% of Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.
What are Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 2% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 2% of total expenditure at Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.
How much income does Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League receive? +
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League reported £3.0m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.
Are Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League based? +
Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League is listed at London · UK-wide · SE1 1AA and operates UK-wide, focused on poverty relief.
How does CharityCompare score Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.
How often is this page updated? +
This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.