End of the line for ex-rail staff (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

End of the line for ex-rail staff

Bill Farmer, Doreen Taylor, Carly Taylor, Shaun Taylor, Jamie Taylor, Ken Taylor, Sue Taylor and David Lewis Ref: 78659-3IT'S the end of an era for a Swindon social club which is closing its doors at the end of the month.

The 700 members of the Great Western Railway Staff Association will have to find somewhere else to go when the club shuts on August 31.

It was opened in 1931 and was once a thriving sports and social club where members played tennis, football, cricket and bowls.

But members say things have never been the same since British Rail sold the building to developers in 1997.

The staff association leased the building, in Shrivenham Road, Swindon, from DDCS Properties but money was tight with the only source of funding being membership fees.

Now the organisers of the club have decided they can no longer afford to run the club so have given up the lease.

David Lewis, 67, is the club chairman and joined 45 years ago.

He said: "When I first joined the club it was a fantastic place with so many different sports and facilities.

"But times have changed and people want different things like health clubs and places like that.

"This is very much the end of an era for us.

"The club was a truly unique place.

"It used to be funded by the railways but that all stopped in 1997 when the railways were privatised and the building was sold.

"And these days you need money to be able to provide the type of activities and facilities that people want."

He says the members won't be moving into a new home.

"I expect that we will all be going our separate ways. It's sad but these things do happen."

Sue Taylor, 45, who has managed the bar at the club since 1999, said: "It is very upsetting.

"I feel very sad that the club is having to close because the members here are like one big family.

"Everybody knows everybody else and everybody is friendly and nice to each other.

"It does seem a shame that we won't be finding anywhere else.

"But there's nowhere big enough to hold us all.

"The club is a huge place which has been able to accommodate so many different activities.

"Nowhere will be able to match that."

It is believed that the company, which owns the site, plans to build housing there in the future.

Bill Farmer, 86, joined the club in 1931 when it first opened.

He said: "It won't affect me too much because of my age but it's not very nice for the younger people.

"There's nothing like this in Swindon."

Kenneth Taylor, 81, who joined the club in 1941, is in charge of organising the entertainment at the club he and his wife Doreen organise Saturday dance nights.

He said: "I'm very, very sad not only for me but for all the members of the club.

"We get 80 or 90 people here every Saturday night but now they will have nowhere to go.

"There's nowhere else like this where older people like us can go.

"We still see the same old faces that used to come here right from the beginning."

A place to meet since 1931

THE club opened in 1931 when it was called the Great Western Railway Sports Ground.

At that time the Great Western Railway funded all the facilities and activities at the club.

In 1949, British Rail was created and the name of the club was changed to the British Rail Staff Association (BRSA).

In 1993, the name of the club was changed to the Great Western Railway Staff Association as the railways were privatised.

In February 2000, Swindon Council initially granted planning permission for DDCS properties to build 145 homes on the site.

In January last year, the club's sports ground was reclassified from green-field status to an area where development can take place.

Diana Milne