Staff and committee members have helped turn a social club once threatened with closure into a thriving business after they agreed to work for free.

Back in August 2007, The Royal British Legion Club, in Gillingham, had little more than £300 in the bank.

The head office advised the committee to close the club due to a drop in business and membership, but more than 100 members voted against the decision. As a result, the committee stood down and a caretaker committee took over.

Almost two years later, the club now has more than £13,000 in the bank and membership numbers are also on the up. Paul Summers, the club’s social secretary, said it would not have survived if it had not been for the bar staff, cleaners and committee members.

He said: “The steward left so we took on a bar manager, which cut the costs by a third. Then we asked all the bar staff if they would do one session a week for free, which they did, the cleaner also did one session a week for free, and the committee members agreed to work unpaid.

“We are extremely grateful to everyone who worked for free as I don’t think we would have survived if we hadn’t done it.

“The bar staff and cleaner have only just started getting paid for every session and we’ve just had to take on a paid secretary due to all the paperwork that’s involved now. We’ve also scrimped and saved, gone to people and asked for a bit of money off here and there, and delivered flyers to about 600 houses in the area, which got us 60 new members.

“They obviously bring their families in, which generates money behind the bar, and that’s how we’ve done it. It’s been a lot of hard work. This time next year I’d like to see double the amount of money in the bank, and, if people carry on using it, I think we will be there.”

Ron Lamb, the Royal British Legion’s Gillingham branch president and chairman, said: “These people got the club by the throat and shook it alive, which surprised everyone. Some of the paperwork for closure was already being made out – that’s how bad it was.

“We are deeply indebted to Paul and the rest of the committee because without the club, the branch would have been on shaky ground. If it had closed it would have been a very heavy loss financially to the RBL.

“The club had been on a monthly temporary licence to trade under the RBL banner. Now they have a year’s licence, but the rate these lot are going, they’ll still be going in 50 years’ time.”