Watch: Everything must go as Royal British Legion moves out of its Ludlow home

But all that is set to come to an end as the contents of the building are set go on sale or be packed into storage next week.

The Royal British Legion branch will be cast adrift without a home after seven decades based in the building in Mill Street, commonly known as Victory House.

It is the latest victim of problem that has seen branches across the county face a fight for survival.

Hilda Roberts, chair of the Ludlow RBL branch women's section, said: "It will be a very sad day for Ludlow when this building is eventually sold.

"I've been a member for 40 years, and my mother, Mary Williams, was a member for 62. I will most likely need a box of tissues and a couple of sheets to dry my tears.

"There are such a lot of things that have happened here. The people of Ludlow in the past have put such a lot into this building."

The building was bought for the legion by the people of the town for £1,600 in 1946. But recent years have seen a battle to keep the building viable, particularly since the Victory Club, a members social club based in the rear, folded due to financial difficulties in 2013.

The end of the Victory Club saw not only a drop in revenue but also a drop in numbers of RBL members as many mistakenly thought the branch and club were one and the same.

Bryan Martin, branch treasurer, said: "It's just a pity the Victory Club finished. When I took over as subscription secretary in 2002 we had 600 members, but over the years it's just gone down and down. It was 68 last year."

But he said there was clearly still a passion for the RBL in the town, with the branch raising a whopping £20,000 each year for the Poppy Appeal.

"That's amazing for a town the size of Ludlow," he said, "We actually donated more than Birmingham city centre.

"On one Saturday my wife and I put up a gazebo by the memorial in Castle Square and we made £800 in one day," he said.

"But we just can't afford to keep the building, it costs a fortune to heat and the whole place needs refurbishing really.

"Now we just want somewhere to to rent or lease with storage for the Poppy Appeal equipment, and somewhere to hold meetings."

He said the building would be locked up after the sale, except for once a month when members would still meet in the front room until told to vacate. Branch secretary Pat Merrick said members could not get a new base until a sale had been finalised, but choices in Ludlow town centre were few and far between.

He said four offers had been made on Victory House, one of which members had agreed they would accept, though the sale had yet to be finalised by RBL bosses.

He said it was time to let go after a fight to save the building for the RBL in recent years.

He said they had also tried staging more public events including a visit from famous arms and explosives search dog Treo and his handler Sergeant Dave Heyhoe, who served in Afghanistan.

"There were about 150 people here for that. If that was the route we had gone down, we would probably still be here," he said. However, it wasn't to be. He said the inside of the building would now be stripped and much of it would be up for sale to raise funds on February 20. He pointed out unusual items from things such as a huge old oak cabinet that used to serve as a bar, to a board with over-sized playing cards used for a club version of 1980s TV quiz Play Your Cards Right.

Members medals on the wall would go Shropshire Regimental Museum, he said.

The fate of a rare mural by wartime cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather, painted directly on to the wall inside the RBL building, was yet to be decided as permission to attempt its removal would have to be given by the new owners. Mr Merrick said it was sad but time to draw a line under the branch's days at Victory House.

"It's the end of an era," he said.

Tough times for clubs as membership falls

Half a century ago, the Royal British Legion clubs were at the centre of their communities.

But in recent years many clubs have struggled and have had to come up with new ways of attracting support.

In August 2014, Newport RBL Club called an emergency meeting after it was hit by financial difficulties, with a warning that the club would close if it could not raise £12,000 to £15,000 to keep it going.

Since then the club has managed to stabilise its finances, but secretary Colin Farge said much depended on future support. "When we held the meeting somebody made the suggestion that members could make a donation of £10, and we took the best part of £700 that night," he said.

"In the month that followed, more donations came in, and we got roundabout £1,000, and they raised some funds at the Honeysuckle in Newport."

Mr Farge said a recent advertisement in the Newport Advertiser had led to an upturn in people booking the venue for events. He said the membership had remained pretty steady, at about 150 members.

"I think clubs in general are seen as a bit old-fashioned these days, and people have also got a bit less disposable income, and they don't go out as much," said Mr Farge.

"The other thing is the drinks are so cheap in the supermarkets now, people can buy them and stop at home."

A number of RBL clubs have been taken over by private companies, which have struck deals with the charity, allowing its branches to continue using them as its headquarters. Among them is the club in Delaware Avenue, Albrighton, which was taken over by Walsall-based Horizon Estates in 2011.

The club was renamed The Royal after Horizon took over the lease, but the RBL branch continues to use it for its activities.

Broseley Royal British Legion does not own its own premises, but uses the village's working men's club. The branch had been facing an uncertain future, but received a boost last month when it was revealed it had recruited 13 new members.