Prestwick RAFA is toasting a bright future

Dec 2 2011 by Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

THE RAFA club in Prestwick has been saved from closure.

Veterans have been celebrating their latest victory after the big-hearted Ayrshire community came forward to offer support to the cash strapped club.

The development comes after the Post ran a series of features and old photographs looking back at the rich history of the 60-year-old facility.

New laws mean the club can no longer be rented out to non-membership organisations.

That coupled with higher utility bills and a dwindling membership made the very existence of the club incredibly difficult.

The committee needed to secure £6000 to cover a black hole in next year’s finances.

This week, Bob Chandler from the RAFA, said: “The excellent articles in the Post certainly achieved their aim, with most of the members attending an Extraordinary General Meeting along with a fair amount of support from many other quarters.

“Although we still have a lot of hard work in front of us we received a large financial boost from the members which will give the club a lifeline of at least another year or so.

“And that will give the committee time to restructure the club finances and hopefully keep the club open for many years to come.

“I’d like to thank all those readers who so willingly helped us in our time of need.”

The Royal Air Force Association branch at Stonegarth in Prestwick was initially opened in 1948 to provide social activities for the hundreds of demobbed war time Royal Air Force personnel, their widows and their children.

But club membership is now open to anyone who supports the ethos of providing welfare to the whole Royal Air Force family.

The club has many facilities including a snooker table, museum and weekend dances.

It is open every night except Sunday and cost just over £1 a week to be a member, with 30 per cent of that going to Royal Air Force charities.