Working Men's, Sports and Social clubs

Wow, it's still there then, my gran lived at no. 26 all her married life so I used to play round the back of the club. It's nice to know somethings don't change, sad it's not a working men's club anymore though. Thank you for taking the time to check it out

Sad news of the Canley Sports and Social

As a young man in the early 80s I went to several parties at the "Buffs" club on the Foleshill Road Is it still there? John

The Buffs Club is indeed still there on the Foleshill Road. My ex father in law was in the Buffs and used that Club and I used to play against the darts team there.

Anyone recall this club? These photos are from 2009 and I'm not sure anything has changed since

It looks like the Brassworkers Club MR. I used this club regularly, when you turn off the road there is a steep hill because of its elevated position, it was a nice club and a sad day when it closed down

Thanks Norm - I took someone's word about the building without checking I will amend my captions Thanks again

I agree Norm, the Brassworkers was a lovely club. A nice building in a lovely elevated position. Very good bingo sessions with good money prizes. My dad was a member for many years. He used to take me occasionally to the original club in the 50s, not far away if I remember correctly. I remember it was a very quiet place with many stuffed specimen fish in glass cases along the snooker room walls. There's a PhD for someone who explains the demise of pubs and clubs with social change.

I visited the Brassworkers only once, for a "Gentlemen's Evening". The evening culminated with a 16mm film show which was interrupted every few minutes while the projectionest spliced a break in the film.

There are many reasons for the demise of the Working Mens' Clubs. I can certainly suggest some reasons that so many have gone to the wall, but it boils down to there being too many fingers in the running, and not enough diligence in ensuring they were run properly. As some will know, I spent many years as a Trading Standards Officer, and we were constantly vigilant against the various fiddles and scams that went on throughout the licensed trade. It may surprise people to know that officers such as us had no powers of entry to places like CIU clubs. Night clubs and other commercial premises were not a problem and we could enter at any time. But a CIU club was owned by its members, and so legally there was no sale taking place. This meant that they could get away with whatever they liked in terms of consumer law. They could overcharge, adulterate drinks, substitute cheaper brands, short measure etc, with no legal comeback. This situation gave many people the opportunity to take advantage, and there were numerous club stewards running all sorts of fiddles and making a fortune in the process. The chances of being caught were not great, since the clubs were run by committees of people who were amateurs. When a steward was found with his hand in the till he was normally quietly removed. To cause too much fuss would have been uncomfortable for many on the committees too, as they were often getting huge perks too. There was one large WMC in Coventry where every committee member was entitled to 4 free pints every time he attended the club. There were around 20 members on this committee, and many would turn up, sup their free ale, and go. No wonder getting on the committee was such an honour! Club officers also did well out of the place, some being almost full-time whilst claiming dole. All this had to be paid for in the long run, and the clubs ceased to be havens for cheap drinks as they struggled to make ends meet. Some had been bled dry, either by incompetence, dishonesty or both. This is my reasoning, but it is all based on what I have seen first hand. I just hope the ones that survive have cleared out the bad apples and given themselves a chance of survival. After all, many of these clubs are the only places many people can access live music these days.

What a co-incidence that this topic of conversation takes place within days of the Canley WMC being fire razed after closing a few months ago. Also recently on another thread someone made reference to the former CIU Club on David Road, Stoke which is now a Private Members Club.

Reliant Owners Club used to meet at one of the Working Mens Clubs in the 1960's, does any one remember which one, any members still around?

Really sad, had some great times in that club, played football for them, learned to play 5s & 3s in the games room, also worked behind the bar when Guy & Marie ran it in the late 60's. Jim Cooke was secretary then.

Hi Norm, do you remember a guy called Gordon Loader from the Brass Workers Club? He taught me "gear cutting" when I was an apprentice at Wickmans.

Hi Mick...Yes I remember Gordon, he was big mates with Fred Sawrey who I worked with for years. Fred was an ex-forklift driver from Standard Triumph...