Royal British Legion suspends sales of ‘Pull The Pin’ commemorative rum on Armistice Day

Product is made by Devon firm run by ex-forces veteran who wanted to thank charity for support

The military charity said it was reviewing its plan ‘following a number of complaints’ (Royal British Legion)

The Royal British Legion (RBL) has removed from sale a “Pull The Pin”-branded bottle of rum designed to commemorate its 100-year anniversary, following complaints.

On Armistice Day, the military charity said it would review the availability of the centenary-themed drink, which features a lid with a grenade-style ring-and-pin design.

Millions of people around the UK fell silent at 11am on Thursday to mark the sacrifices of people who have died in war.

Shortly afterward, RBL tweeted that it would suspend sales of its anniversary rum bottles, saying in a statement: “Following a number of complaints, we are undertaking a review of the Pull the Pin rum on our Poppy Shop and therefore we have removed the product at this time.

“This course of action has been taken as it is important we now focus on Armistice Day and the Remembrance weekend, however we remain committed to supporting our veteran community in their employment after service.”

The drink in question is manufactured by Pull the Pin Spirits, a firm based in Devon and founded by Tom Foster, a former member of the armed forces, with business partner Kerry Carter.

It makes spiced and flavoured rum products – all featuring the signature lid – and according to its website created the RBL edition bottle in gratitude for the help the charity had given Mr Foster and other veterans.

Its previous special edition products have included a bottle marking 50 years since a British commando engineer unit was formed.

Mr Foster served as an engineer before being medically discharged in 2018, his company told The Independent. At that his time the RBL gave him “valued support”.

In a statement, Mr Foster said: “I have put everything into creating a company that brings people together and can raise awareness for causes we believe in.

“Giving back and gratitude are two of our core values and over the past two years we have had different projects all to raise money and awareness for charities [such as] rock2recovery, Normandy Memorial Fund [and] RBL, which are of course very close to our hearts.

“In the media recently there has been an incorrect link between the bottle and ‘celebrating’ remembrance as well as linking the bottle to a grenade. Neither of which is what the bottle is for or about and it saddens me immensely that this has happened, especially today.

“We are an active part of the military and veteran community and develop our military-linked products with them. I am very thankful for the incredible support from them especially with this commemorative rum.

“We are saddened that the bottle is removed from sale and is prevented from continuing to raise funds and highlight the valuable work that the RBL continues to do.”