Skegness Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Lincolnshire
A special feature on Skegness Ex-Servicemen’s Club from your webfella.
Recently, as my birthday treat, Mrs Webfella and myself spent a weekend in “Skeggy”. We had visited several times over the past couple of years and seen the carnage of what was left of the complex burnt to the ground on the seafront.
The Parade Complex, directly next door to the club, had gone up in flames spectacularly during August 2007. Having seen the aftermath most people who have taken the view that the club would be so devastated that it would never open again.
Just take a peek at the embedded video. Apparently the fire brigade used the club building as a fire break. With water being drawn from a duck pond, the community swimming pool and even the boating lake there was little chance of anything being salvaged. Everything in the building was destroyed by the water but the fire crews had done their job.
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There was some structural damage to the side of the building. Of course the club was closed for a considerable time while repairs were made and the rubble from the burnt down complex was removed.
The club boasts a membership of several hundred from Skegness with an additional 10,000 plus from around the country! Furthermore, not only were club members inconvenienced but the British Legion and numerous other groups who used the club as their base where faced with a few problems.
With typical club camaraderie the other clubs in the area - particularly Skegness WMC, Skegness Liberal Club and, I believe, Skegness Cricket Club - opened their doors to those displaced from the ex-servicemen's. The club committee were allowed to use the facilities at the Liberal Club and alternative venues were found for upcoming events. Through all these difficulties the guys and gals who represented the club at dominoes and darts etc managed to continue in ther various leagues.
All's well that ends well, but I can only imagine the amount of hard work involved in getting the place back onto it's feet. Mrs Webfella and myself paid a tentative visit on the first lunch time of our weekend visit. Our verdict, ‘staggering’. Inside, the building is absolutely immaculate - the furnishings are second to none, the staff are more than friendly. Also the drinks were spot on for both quality and price. In fact we were so impressed that we forced ourselves to face a few more sessions before heading back inland.
A tremendous story of overcoming adversity and a superb, shining example of the communal spirit through the club movement in the town.
Thanks to Rob and Melina at the The Ivydene Hotel, Skegness for their hospitality during our visit., and good luck with the domino tournaments!
