Sheerness East Working Men's Club
Founded in 1919, Sheerness East Working Men's Club on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent is the epitome of a community and family-orientated club with a wealth of activities on offer
Sheerness East Working Men's Club on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent was founded in 1919 after local landowner, Lord Robert Harris, gifted the plot of land to those returning from service in World War One.
The original building has been extended since those early days and now boasts a large Function Hall, Lounge Bar and Garden, giving members plenty of space to enjoy an array of activities or simply relax with friends and family over a drink or two.
The club, just a short distance from the island's thriving commercial port, currently has 1,800 members and is busy seven days a week from morning until closing time.
"It's sometimes like a conveyor belt, we have so much going on and so many different groups using the club's facilities," says Club Manager Paula Smith, who runs the club with husband Dave.
"It's a real community facility, and we really work hard to ensure that we can accommodate as many activities as possible and keep the club nice and busy.
"So things like yoga classes, sequence dancing, senior exercise classes, and singing and dancing groups for dementia sufferers are hosted in the Hall throughout the week at various times.
"It's great to see so many people getting involved, and to give you an idea of how popular our sequence dancing afternoons are, they have around 80 at the Monday session and 40 on a Thursday.
"They host regular 'themed' events – for example, a Halloween Night – where all the dancers wear fancy dress."
Above all, it is serving the local population which drives the club forwards.
"We really try to accommodate as many community groups as possible," says Paula. "So, for example, we have a deaf group who come in to socialise with each other as well as a group with learning difficulties.
"Then we host groups like the Women's Institute and the Associated Sheppey Bikers who hold various events throughout the year.
"Our Senior Fellowship takes place each Wednesday with a good crowd of people attending on a weekly basis to socialise and take part in various activities.
"During the pandemic, our Hall became one of the first 'drop-in' COVID testing stations in the UK; then we became a vaccination facility and latterly we now host a blood donation unit once a month."
Sport is also a mainstay of the club, with 10 darts teams and three pool teams playing fixtures at the club throughout the week, while the club is also the base for a flourishing youth football team which plays on the pitches at the rear of the club.
The club hosts the Sheppey Classic Darts tournament each summer, which pulls in some of the best players from across Kent, including the likes of PDC professionals Conan Whitehead, Josh Payne, and Rob Cross. In November, the club stages a charity darts event in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
"This year's charity darts raised over £1,200 and saw 32 teams playing in a round-robin tournament before a knockout round, which meant that there were loads of people involved in a fantastic day," says Paula.
"We also held a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and members.
"We're really proud of our youth football section, which has teams from Under-8s to Under-15s as well as two girls' teams and a charity team.
"They train at various times throughout the week with games on a Sunday. It's really busy on matchday with all the players and their parents coming into the club to have a bacon roll, tea, and coffee from the club kitchen.
"We also have Sky Sports and TNT Sports in the club so everyone can come in and watch the Premier League games at the weekend after they've played their own games."
The club is such a beloved part of the local community, it's almost inconceivable to consider that 16 years ago it was in serious danger of shutting its doors forever due to financial difficulties.
"Dave and I were approached in 2008 when the club's finances were in disarray," explains Paula. "The club was hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt with money owed on the mortgage and various bills outstanding.
"So we took over in October that year, and it was due to shut in mid-December.
"We spent weeks contacting everyone who was owed money – such as the brewery – in order to give the club time to keep running and get back on track financially.
"It was incredibly hard work in those early stages, but we kept the club open and gradually turned everything around by overhauling the whole financial management of the club.
"The mortgage was paid off four years ago, and now the club has no debts whatsoever, so the hard work over the past 15 years or so has been worth it and has ensured that a precious community asset is still here to serve the community rather than lying derelict or knocked down."
With that potential tragedy avoided, the club is looking to the future with confidence and has invested in the building over recent years, including spending £50,000 on a new roof for the Function Hall.
"Obviously, it's important to ensure that our members have a lovely, comfortable environment where they can relax and enjoy themselves," says Paula.
"During the lockdowns, we did a lot of refurbishment ourselves, including painting the club from top to bottom.
"We also got the roof fixed while the club was closed, so there was a silver lining to the dark cloud of COVID.
"But that's all behind us now, and the club is alive again with the sound of people enjoying themselves from morning until night. As I'm talking to you now, I can hear the toddlers dancing around at the Boogie Kids Club in the Hall, another weekly club which is based here."
Charity is very important to the club, with various fundraisers taking place throughout the year.
"We're really happy to help in any way we can with fundraising for good causes," says Paula. "We have so many links to charities and organisations. One tie-up sees Sheppey Matters – a local charity who get funding from local businesses and the council – use the club kitchen every Tuesday and Wednesday morning to cook meals for vulnerable people.
"They cook around 80 meals here at their 'Grub Hub' and then distribute them to those in need, so we're delighted to support them in their work.
"Another group which is based at the club are the Associated Sheppey Bikers, who meet here once a week and stage their major fundraisers here.
"During the summer, we hosted their annual rally, with hundreds of motor enthusiasts bringing along their motorbikes and enjoying BBQ food and drink in the sunshine in aid of the Harmony Therapy Trust, which helps cancer patients.
"This month, they will be meeting up at the club for their annual Christmas Run. They dress up as Father Christmas and then ride around the Island on their bikes distributing gifts to care homes."
Of course, regular readers of *Club Journal* will have followed the daring charitable exploits of Paula herself over the years, as she has undertaken a series of stunts which were definitely not for the fainthearted.
These included a parachute jump in 2019, which raised £3,400 for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, the Royal Marsden Children's Hospital, and the Sheerness East Youth Football Club.
That was followed, just after the end of lockdown, with a Charity Wing Walk, which saw her strapped onto the top of a biplane for a flight over Kent.
"It was absolutely amazing," says Paula. "We took off at around 80mph and went up to 700 feet. The views were out of this world and, most importantly, I raised another £2,400 for my nominated charities."
Paula has undertaken similar challenges each year – including an abseil and a flight in a gyrocopter – so watch this space for what 2025 has in store.
"The members always get behind me in terms of sponsorship, and many of them even came along to watch the parachute jump and the wing walk," says Paula.
"Our members really are a fantastic bunch, and the fundraising that goes on here reflects the community-minded and family-friendly ethos of the club.
"We're looking forward to a really good 2025 for the club and all of our members."
