MEMBERS of the Royal British Legion in Princes Risborough gathered yesterday to discuss their next move in a bid to save their branch building.

The memorial hall in Bell Street which was built by war veterans after World War Two will be closed on March 8 after an un-named bidder bought the leasehold.

Members of the action branch committee which was formed to save the hall have written to the Charity Commission to see if they will be able to step in and stop the sale going through.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales is established by law as the regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales.

Chairman of the action committee Alan Turner said: “We told them we feel very hard done by in the way we have been treated by head office.

“We asked them to investigate the whole matter. We told them the whole building was built and paid for by local branch members.”

He said they want to find out if it is in the commission's power to stop the sale going through and retract the eviction notice.

As the Bucks Free Press reported last week the branch committee have been told they must remove all their memorabilia from the building before it closes its doors on March 8.

Mr Turner added they have also written to the legion's head office in London to tell them until the investigation is completed by the Charity Commission they are “not minded to abide by their eviction notice.”

Branch member Robert Hartley, who helped build the memorial hall after the war, said he is very disappointed by the way members have been treated.

He said: “It was built in memory of the chaps who lost their lives in the last war.

“It was paid for by local people- they used to sell bricks at half a crown each- and then they go and do this.

“They [head office] have kept us out of it. I don't know what the situation is. If it is dependent on planning permission I hope they turn it down.”

An un-named buyer – which members believe to be a property developer - bought the hall's lease at the end of last year.

Jan Salmon, who represents the women's section of the branch which attends to the war memorial, said the legion have lost the respect of the people in the town.

She added: “They have let the whole community down. They have really lost their street cred.

“It is not just about the men who died in World War One and Two but also the lads who are dying today.”

The sale will only be completed if the un-named plan is given council planning permission.