A club for Navy veterans faces closure "within weeks" unless vital funds can be raised.
A fundraising page to help the Commodore Club on Heysham Road, which is almost 70 years old, was launched this week.
The venue has long been a safe space for all serving and veteran Armed Forces personnel, and is a base for the Royal Naval Association, the Morecambe Bay Submariners’ Association, and the Merchant Navy Association.
But in recent years, the club has fallen on tough financial times.
LISTEN to our interview with Malcolm O'Neil, club member, pictured below inside the Commodore Club
"This Commodore Club is a unique, fantastic venue for people to come along and enjoy a safe environment," said Mr O'Neil.
"Unfortunately like most venues now, since Covid, most clubs suffer through lack of attendance.
"It's such a brilliant place not to be here for its 70th birthday, so we're trying to save it now."
A GoFundme page launched to help the Commodore Club included an appeal by Jim Lupton, a Royal Navy veteran and member of the club.
"I spend many happy hours socialising with friends there, taking part in entertainments, and being an active member of the committee," said Mr Lupton.
"Due to multiple contributing factors, the Commodore Club has recently fallen on hard times and, despite the diligent efforts of the committee and members, we are facing closure within weeks.
"The situation, being so dire, prompted an emergency general meeting which had the effect of bringing together certain members to form a group committed to fighting to keep our club open.
"They have attacked the problem with a wonderful energy, coming up with pertinent ideas like fund-raising auctions and grants.
"Whilst these ideas are excellent, they will take time to reach fruition, and that is time we do not have.
"What The Commodore Club is asking of you is to help buy us the time to keep us from closing while we totally mobilise to keep us open and start trading viably under our own steam again.
"Our club is 69 years old and was started aboard an old light ship vessel called the Comet, berthed alongside the Stone Jetty in Morecambe.
"In 1954, the club moved to its current premises on the somewhat sturdier ground of Heysham Road, about a mile away from the jetty.
"Since its foundation, the Commodore Club has offered a safe space for veterans from all the services, as well as associate members and visitors.
"We are a home for happy line dancers and quirky quizzers, tuneful and not-so-tuneful karaoke singers, party-goers, pub gamers, and delightful dancers.
"We are a home base for the Royal Naval Association, the Morecambe Bay Submariners’ Association, and the Merchant Navy Association.
"Since the downturn in our fortunes, we have learned to put on our own entertainments, rather than paying for acts to come in, with some wonderful results.
"We have discovered singers, comics, and performers within our own ranks who have provided us with hours of fun.
"My friends and I are currently working on a Christmas pantomime, all the while crossing our fingers in the hope that we will be open to perform it.
"We love our club. It’s not just a hangout for salty old sailors, it is a welcoming hub, a meeting place for three generations of people, a safe place bathed in community spirit. Our concert room is the perfect size for parties of around 50 or so people to celebrate the events in their lives, and we have had some great times helping them to do it.
"The Commodore Club provides a venue for older generations to socialise the way they want to, in a lively but non-threatening atmosphere within an otherwise relatively boisterous town.
"Market forces have conspired with the Covid pandemic and subsequent inflation to chip away at the club’s savings. Operating costs have risen dramatically. We at the Commodore are determined to have a shot at rescuing ourselves, but we need some help along the way. We have a lot of older veterans who rely on us as a destination, and we want to carry on giving our time to maintaining this amazing space. I couldn’t bear to lose our club."
*Since this story was published, Mr O'Neil has told us that the crowdfunder set up earlier this week has been closed down and donations will be refunded.
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