Committee members at the RBL branch have made an urgent plea to their members to attend their meeting on Tuesday April 8 in a last-ditch bid to stop the group from folding.

They say they desperately need “young blood” to take over on the committee and carry out the duties, such as the annual poppy selling.

Chairman Bill Savent, who is 84, said: “This meeting could be our final one. That’s how serious this is. The county secretary is coming down for it and she has written to all our members telling them it is very important that they attend the meeting.”

There are currently six members of the committee but Mr Sarvent said their age made it hard to carry out the jobs.

He said: “I’m 84 and it’s very difficult. It’s not that we’re short of members, we have plenty. It’s just they are not interested.

“If there not enough people to do the jobs, we just can’t go on.”

Vice-chairman Harry Turner added: “Everyone has just grown old. We have no young blood.

“We keep managing to do the poppies but we are really struggling.”

The meeting takes place at Knottingley Town Hall at 7pm.