All members who were serving in the Forces were allowed to retain their membership without payment of subscription for the duration of the war. 

The competition for the Cranston Cup was suspended during the war period, as was the Club Championships, although some tournaments were arranged but were not classified as Club Championship events. 

There became a demand for temporary membership during the summer months for which a scheme was formulated, being 1^st April to 31^st October (7 months) at £1 15s 0d or 1^st May to 30^th September (5 months) at £1 10s 0d, with an entrance fee of 2s 6d for new members. Within this period around 20 additional members took up the option. With the boost in numbers this created it was decided to continue this type of membership during the war period. Arrangements were made for collection of membership fees to allow one payment in full, two payments or monthly payments. 

Great difficulty was experienced in procuring supplies for the canteen and for catering. Owing to the shortages and the difficulty in obtaining replacements an appeal to the membership was made for spare crockery. 

More balls than normal were purchased as a precaution against supplies becoming short and initially only three balls were issued for use per court each week. Again the summer membership scheme was very popular and in view of this an increase was made to four balls per court. However after the summer new balls were issued at fortnightly intervals. 

A weekly programme for playing arrangements was devised which included committee controlled play on weekends and Wednesday evening, own sets on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening and MEN ONLY on Friday evening. Within a month of this allocation an approach to the Committee was made regarding the ‘Mens Night’ and the allocation altered to only two courts reserved for men only. 

A closing comment at the AGM from a member, who had been at Grosvenor Tennis Club for 10 years, stated that during his first year at this Club he had been very happy and had come to the conclusion that it was possible for a Tennis and Social Club to be a success.

1942

A Club news bulletin was started and issued about every two months; this was also sent to the serving members of HM Forces. There were a total number of 28 members known to be serving in the Forces at this time.

A typical Sunday afternoon social gathering in 1942

Friction within the Committee resulted in the resignation of the Vice Captain following alleged remarks detrimental to the Committee as to the running of the Club. The Secretary also tendered his resignation due to the remarks made but later withdrew it in order to avoid any further disruption to the Club. 

During the year it was decided to start a social membership category, for which the subscription would be 5shillings per year. The idea was to cater for those people who wished to help the Club in some way but did not desire to play tennis or table tennis.

Tennis nets were becoming worn and needed attention, as did the pavilion. The ladies agreed to carry out the task of painting as soon as paint was forthcoming. The blackout arrangements were unsatisfactory and utility blackout material had to be purchased to line the existing curtains. 

Ladies and Mens Doubles Tournaments were held but by far the outstanding success during the summer was the 'Wings for Victory' Tournament, arranged by the Club, with nearly 200 people attending.

August Bank Holiday event in 1943

A Junior tennis section was formed. 

The Forces Bulletin was still being issued every two months, also a Forces Christmas Gift Fund had met with good response and gifts were dispatched to those serving. 

Reconditioned tennis balls had been provided throughout the summer but it was only possible for used balls to be provided during the winter months. 

The largest attendance so far for any event was for an Open Tennis Tournament arranged in connection with the local 'Salute the Soldier' savings week. This saw Mr & Mrs J Black win the Mixed Doubles with Mr R Ling and Mr L Shepherd winning the Mens Doubles for the Club. The financial outcome resulted in a cheque for £33 12s 9d being sent to the Essex Regiment Benevolent Fund.

The Club was still paying rent to Mr Palmer, the landlord, but on a gentleman’s agreement basis as the last agreement had expired at the end of 1941. It was therefore thought necessary to come to some arrangement to safeguard the position of the Club in the event of anything happening to Mr Palmer. The response from Mr Palmer was a new agreement under the same terms and conditions as in the previous agreement in 1937, for a period of two years with the option of renewing for a further period of two years. 

The grounds were looking worse for wear, wire netting had holes in many places, lead tape for the court lines was scarce, grass and weeds were growing on the courts and the grass was getting out of control around the courts. A scythe had to be found for the groundsman who had only recently been employed. 

During the summer things started to get back to some normality, with an invitation from other Clubs to play matches, so a Match Selection Committee was formed. The district table tennis league meeting was held and a Table Tennis Sub-Committee was appointed. In celebration of peace a Victory Tennis Tournament was held in conjunction with other Clubs in the district, the proceeds being donated to the British Legion Building Fund. 

The social side had continued throughout the war with bridge, whist drives, etc. on three Saturday nights per month, with the fourth being a social night. These events with the profits made from them and catering certainly helped the Club to stay operational throughout the wartime period and helped boost the financial standing from a low level in 1939 to a reasonable balance of £52 5s 1d. 

The playing membership had stayed at an average of around 60 since 1940, with 29 members serving with the Forces. 

With the end of the war came the standing down of Mr Palmer from the office of President, the landowner who had inaugurated the Club in 1932 had been most generous through the years. It was with regret that he had to relinquish the position and he was elected a Life Vice-President.

Recorder report of Victory Tennis Tournament