Ships go sale-ing (From Wimbledon Guardian)

Ships go sale-ing

1:56pm Saturday 8th March 2008

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The last remaining mementos of the Merton branch of the Royal Navy Association (RNA) are due to go under the hammer as the club fights for the cash to stay alive.

A shortage of funding forced members to shut the doors to their club's headquarters for good on New Years day. Now irreplaceable model ships built by a late member who served in World War II will be auctioned.

But former members, who used to meet in their own hall in Colwood Road, Colliers Wood, are hoping to use the money to pay off their debts and to keep their charitable work going.

"Eighteen years is a long time to build up a collection of this sort of stuff and it's heart breaking to see it all go in the same way that forced us to shut our club doors." said Fred Ticehurst, club treasurer.

"But the money will make a real difference to the branch and charities we support."

Every year the club aims to raise more then a thousand pounds for the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton.

This year is no exception as members also pledge to raise funds for Help For Heroes, a charity supporting servicemen recently injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I'm 82-years-old, the same age as most of our members, and there's no way we will stop doing what we're doing," added Fred. "We won't close"

The models are being sold in a sale run by Surrey fine art auctioneers Ewbank, based in Woking. Thousands of pounds worth of other memorabilia, including flags from Navy ships and even hammocks used in the war, will also be auctioned.

The borough's RNA members continues to meet at the red Poppy Club in St Marks Road Mitcham.

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