Two years ago the Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club faced an uncertain future after posting annual losses, while facing declining memberships and substantial repair bills.
Without changes the members’ club that has been a fixture on the High Street since the 1950s would likely have had to close.
Committee members today freely admit the organisation was “on its knees” as it struggled to recover from the Covid pandemic.
However, two years on the Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club has experienced a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.
There are even plans to throw a celebration party for members to thank them for their support in getting back to this point.
The Press and Journal visited the Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club to learn more about the revival of the High Street institution, including;
- The reasons the venue found itself in a dire financial situation.
- What Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club has packed its schedule with to encourage members through the doors.
- How previous stereotypes of a typical member are being shattered.
- And how the club is continuing to make plans for the future to preserve it for future generations.
Dire financial straits of Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club
The Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club was established on the High Street in 1957 to give military veterans somewhere to socialise together.
Requirements for members to have served in the armed forces were dropped long ago, opening the doors of the striking B-listed building to all.
The club is undoubtedly a High Street landmark with the former doctor’s surgery dating back to the 1890s, although it did have to be extensively rebuilt after a fire in 1973.
Despite opening its doors to more potential members over the years, the Covid pandemic hit the venue and many other similar establishments hard.
Gwen Jones, a member of the 12-strong committee, said: “Folk just weren’t going out then.”
Committee member William Stewart added: “The club was on its knees in 2022. Covid affected a lot of these types of places everywhere.”
In 2022, the club posted an £18,000 annual loss amidst monthly business rates bills of £1,200.
Meanwhile, the club faced looming repair bill for the roof, which members helped fund through collection tins and donations to support Gwen during a six-hour exercise bike ride in the lobby.
Remarkable revival of Elgin venue
With the future uncertain, the club doubled down on traditional pub and bar entertainment to encourage members through the doors – but made the offering more consistent.
Live music has become a popular fixture of Saturdays alongside snooker, dominoes, pool, darts and bingo through the week.
Meanwhile, the 200-capacity function hall has been completely booked for Saturdays for the rest of the year with only one Friday remaining free.
Those paying the annual £40 membership, reduced to £20 for senior citizens, have increased from about 500 two years ago to more than 700 today.
Just one year after posting an £18,000 annual loss, the club reported a £51,000 annual profit.
William said: “Making the live music consistent has made a big difference. Previously it was maybe just once a month, or every couple of months.
“People know it’s every Saturday now. They come in especially for it and its very popular.
“The club hadn’t really moved with the times. It was maybe a bit stale, but that couldn’t be further from the truth now. You just need to see it on a Saturday.
“We are still a members club, so there is a membership fee, but for that they get discounted prices at the bar and free use of the hall.
“The members are ultimately the owners, so they get the benefit of what they spend here too. There’s no shareholders taking dividends or anything like that.”
Breaking down stereotypes of club members
Both William and Gwen acknowledge there is a perception of Elgin Ex-servicemen’s Club members as being older, male with links to the military.
However, both insist that the stereotype couldn’t be further from the truth today.
William said: “It’s a very varied membership now.
“When it was first established women weren’t allowed, but that changed a long time ago, so it’s always been changing.
“I think it’s a good mix at the moment. There are seniors who play snooker, but also a lot of younger members that enjoy the Saturday entertainment.
“We have the Ex-servicemen’s Club name. I don’t think we can change that, but it can make it difficult sometimes to get some people in the door.
“Once they’re through the door though, people really enjoy it.”
Gwen added: “There are a lot of people who come in who are 20-something, but there’s also a man who is 90 and comes in every week and sits at the same table with a drink.
“We like to say people come in as customers, but leave as friends, and you can see that in the way people behave.
“People are always very open to inviting others to sit with them. It’s nice to see.”
Continuing to invest in Ex-servicemen’s Club future
Despite the recent revival, the Ex-servicemen’s Club committee continues to look to the future to ensure the Elgin venue stays open.
After securing an outdoor licence two years ago it is now in the process of getting planning permission to install decking.
A film crew is also due to arrive later in the year to shoot a movie inside the bar.
And the upcoming closure of Elgin Town Hall for renovations has provided an opportunity to try and attract groups to use their facilities.
Indoor bowlers, knitters, Brownies and Rainbows, a camera club and pipe band are all now regulars at the venue.
William said: “A lot of our members use the hall for their parties, which they get free use of, but we’ve also had great success renting it out.
“With the Town Hall closing for the works next year some people approached us about using our hall.
“I think they’d been offered the community centre as an alternative, but it didn’t have the capacity that all of them were needing.
“It’s good to help out, and it helps keep our club as busy as possible, which has been so important to us recently.”
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