When town centre pubs closed between 3 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon, the club gradually became one of the favourite places to get a drink. This reached its height during the second world war when it was used by many, many service men - when one looks at the 'visitors' book it sometimes seems impossible to have so many people in the club at one time.
'Wood Street Club', as it became known, gained an unenviable reputation as a haunt of drunks, prostitutes and black-marketeers.
As Jim Paulden remembered, 'From then on, the club, in spite of generous donations to political and other causes, steadily accumulated funds.'