Closure-threatened Royal British Legion club in Birkenhead back in business

Apr 28 2010 by Alan Weston, Birkenhead News

Closure-threatened Royal British Legion club in Birkenhead back in business

AN HISTORIC Royal British Legion club which was on the verge of extinction 18 months ago has risen from the ashes thanks to the efforts of an army of unemployed volunteers.

Despite its status as the first in the world, the RBL’s Birkenhead branch was facing closure because of falling membership, with only one active member on its books.

Now, thanks to a refurbishment project, the grand seven-storey building in the grounds of Birkenhead Park is looking forward to a brighter future.

Renamed the Sir Frederick Lister house, it was officially reopened by the Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Andrew Hodson, who unveiled a plaque on St George’s Day.

The centre, in Park Road East, was named after Sir Frederick in honour of the Legion’s co-founder.

He began his charitable work in Birkenhead in 1921 in a desire to do something for wounded ex-servicemen returning from the trenches of the First World War, who faced life in derelict workhouses.

The branch’s Maltese-born chairman Tanya Cawood said: “A lot of people do not even know we are here, or that this is the oldest branch in the world.

“All the work done on the building was voluntary.

“We have had up to 15 people here, doing such things as floor-fitting, joinery, decorating and gardening.