From Christmas puddings to benefit claims, one charity has been helping the people of Croydon in their hour of need for 75 years.
Croydon Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) was opened on the second day of the Second World War; September 4 1939.
Earlier this month, staff and volunteers celebrated 75 years of the service.
The Croydon branch of the CAB was one of the first 200 to be opened after war broke out to help people navigate life in wartime England. Since then, the problems have changed but the service is largely unchanged.
When the branch opened in Eldon House on Lansdowne Road in 1939, they helped people made homeless after bomb raids, those with lost ration books and advised people on how to make blackout curtains from old blankets.
Now, the Croydon CAB helps with welfare benefit claims, housing problems, debt and employment.
The team of 60 volunteers meet people face to face to discuss their problems and in 2013-2014 they helped 8,973 clients with 16,650 separate issues. They are backed up by 16 paid members of staff.
Despite being first set up by the National Council of Social Service, the CAB is independent of the council and government.
Barbara Troughton has volunteered with Croydon CAB for 20 years and is one of their longest serving team members. She said that often people do not have access to the information they need to help themselves.
She has helped tenants who do not know their rights, employees who do not understand employment laws and has seen people pay for debt help they could have got from the CAB.
"The more experienced I got the more I became aware of how many people needed help, people who with the best will in the world couldn't help themselves or didn't know how to help themselves," she said.
"I feel that I am doing something that is truly vital and worthwhile to help the community, knowing that I have helped in some way to help them sort out their problems."
The service celebrated its 75th birthday on September 3 with a party at their Access Croydon office in Mint Walk.
They shared a birthday cake and watched a video of an advert for the CAB shown in cinemas when it launched.
Phyllis Baugh, 93, who managed the Croydon CAB for 20 years between 1970 and 1990 after being a volunteer during the 1960s, was guest of honour.
Mrs Baugh said that back then, people just came into the offices instead of making an appointment as they do now, and that the volunteers always stayed until they had seen the last person.
"We dealt with everything from what's on at the pictures to a murder," she said.
"People would phone up with ordinary problems like how to make a Christmas pudding, and then we used to have problems with council housing.
"The largest number of problems we dealt with were about housing; it hasn't changed much has it?
"We had time to listen to people's problems, and although you couldn't always solve the problem you went a long way to reassure them that there was somebody there to listen to them with confidence and that we were doing all we possibly could."
Regina Holland, gateway assessor at Croydon CAB, added that often, people just need pointing in the right direction.
"There's so much information out there that people have no idea what is available to them," she said.
Croydon CAB launched the Friends of Croydon CAB at the birthday party, to keep the public up to date with their campaigns and successes.
To become a friend and receive updates, email: friends@croydoncab.org.uk. These details will not be sold on and Friends will not be sent emails asking for donations.
To find your local CAB branch or for more information, visit www.croydoncab.org.uk or call 020 8684 2236
