Our History
 

The Petts Wood Branch of the Royal British Legion has been part of this community since 1937, when it was formed as a Sub-Branch of Orpington. Within five years, such was the growth in membership that in 1942 it became a full Branch in its own right transferring from Kent County to the Metropolitan Area administration.

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Those early meetings took place at the Willett Café in Station Square, before the growing membership moved to the upper floor of the Daylight Inn. Both were a reflection of what the Branch has always been: a place where people come together.

 

By 1947 the Branch had grown strong enough to purchase land in Queensway, where two American Nissen Huts were erected and the Club was founded, run entirely by its members. In 1954 it became a registered British Legion Affiliated Club, with a Steward appointed to manage it and the Club expanded steadily from that point.

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The Nissen Huts gave way to a permanent building in 1967 and in 1987 the site became the Branch and Club Headquarters it remains today.

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In 2003, the Branch and Women's Section dedicated two plaques on the front of the building to mark the Branch's 60th anniversary — a permanent reminder, on the wall of the place we built together, of everything that came before.