THE Mullion branch of the Royal British Legion closed its doors and laid up its standard after it failed to gather enough volunteers to form a committee.

Following the branch annual general meeting in November, it was decided that there was an insufficient number of members coming forward to apply for the posts of chairman, secretary, treasurer and one other member.

According to RBL rules, if a committee can’t be formed within two months of the end of the financial year then the branch has to close.

Tony Wiffin, chairman of the branch until its closure, said: “I have had to stand down as secretary and chairman due to other commitments, and the vice chairman has stood down due to lack of support from the other members.

“The branch had 50 to 60 members, but only half a dozen were active.”

Mr Wiffin said he was hopeful that a new committee could be formed to enable the branch to reopen, as the accounts would be kept on record by the Royal British Legion HQ in London for three years, after which time any legion in Mullion would have to be a completely new branch.

He called for volunteers to step forward, saying: “I think that there is still enough support in the village and enough interested parties to form a new committee.”

The closure of the branch means that the Mullion RBL Hall, an old reading room from 1880 which was presented to the legion in 1950, will be handed back to the owners at RBL HQ.

The standard will be laid up in the village, either in the parish church or in the heritage centre.

Mr Wiffin said: “There’s still quite a lot of Mullion British Legion heritage in the building as well, which will go to the heritage centre.

“It’s quite a fluid situation at the moment, it’s not clear how the building will be disposed of.”