Fighting for the Battle of Britain Club
PETITION AIMS TO OVERTURN RAFA’S DECISION TO SHUT 71-YEAR-OLD BASE
THE Battle of Britain Club in Uxbridge is faced with closure after more than 70 years serving the local community.
A decision has been made to close the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA) club in Hillingdon Road due to “insurmountable debts” the club has accrued over past decades and the condition of the club building.
Fashioned from two Nissen huts, which served as US Air Force field hospitals in Irvine, Scotland, during the Second World War, the club had recently started to turn its finances around.
However the RAFA headquarters has decided the club should be closed by July 9. The RAFA believe they can cancel out the significant debts by handing the land back to MoD.
Since the decision was made in late April however, the community has rallied behind the club which has hosted weddings and birthdays as well as being a meeting place for local groups including Blind Bowlers Society, Uxbridge Gaming Club, Burma Star Association and St Andrews Park Estate residents.
A petition to appeal the decision by the RAFA has gathered nearly 1,500 signatures.
The iconic club has 521 current members and over the last five years has begun to manage its debts, after decades of liabilities have increased.
Located near the former RAF Uxbridge site, now the St Andrew’s Park housing development, and the newly refurbished Battle of Britain Museum, the club had hoped to capitalise on an increase in visitors.
“The veterans with their children, grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren help the younger people understand what the RAFA is all about, it is the charity that supports the RAF family,” said club chairman Alan Wright in a Facebook post announcing the decision.
“I will continue to fight to save the club if possible, and am currently looking for a sponsor or investors to try and rescue and save such a great club that has been part of the community for 71 years,” he added.
“The club has been linked to RAF Uxbridge all that time, this is, sadly, almost gone and a housing developer will probably buy the land from MOD and build on the site.”
You can sign the petition to keep the club by visiting the website www.change.org and searching the club’s name.
Visit a battleofbritainclub.com for further information.