I have no "side" in any of this, but I will post a few comments about my experiences of clubs.
I'm a member of a private members club in London that doesn't allow anyone in, unless they are members or are accompanied by members.
If the guest turns up early, then they are allowed into one of the bars specifically set aside for this purpose, however they aren't allowed free reign. The system works quite well, but the place is very fussy with what to me are silly rules on dress etc. Ties and suits are a must, which for someone of my age and scruffiness is a complete pain in the backside. So that puts me off it sometimes. Despite the thousands of pounds a year in membership fees. I've never felt completely comfortable and if it wasn't for the facilities and location, I wouldn;t bother with it.
I also frequent Yacht clubs and sailing clubs when the mood to get wet and spend large sums of money for no apparent reason takes me. As mentioned before, most run a system where you can have affiliate membership if you are a member elsewhere, in the same way that many golf clubs do.
That usually works well. There is some control over who comes in, but people are made welcome and there is rarely bad feeling.
Some private clubs can be daunting and intimidating to some and that is much to the detriment of them. Whilst I'm sure WW is a fantastic club (actually I know it to be) there does seem to be a few "points of learning" that could be taken from this thread.
I wouldn't ever suggest that the doors should be simply flung wide for all and sundry to descend, but where is the prolem in allowing other aviators in for a drink? How they arrive is irrelevant and very arbitrary.
I turn up at airfields on the bike or in the car far more often than I do in an aircraft and given my current lack of medical, visiting by aircraft isn't always an option for everyone. Putting someone like me off joining just because of the mode of transport you use to visit initially is a bit daft to be honest.
Any club lives and dies on it's membership and whilst somewhere that has a very strong but cliquey core is fine for a while, it is often not good for the long term as new blood isn't made as welcome or attracted as it could be.
This is very hard to see when you are in the middle of it and I'll bet people would be horrified to think that this is the case.
WW is one of the best aviation clubs in the country, IF you are a member, but I get a feeling from this and from other comments over the years that the welcome to visitors could be a teeny weeny bit better than it currently is.
It's not a major problem, but clubs must be very careful to avoid becoming seen as a cliquey "old buffers" only establisment, where unless you are part of a certain "group", then you are a second class citizen. I'm not saying that WLAC is like that, but it should always be in the forefront of committee members minds when they are thinking about the long term health of the club.
Everyone should be made to feel welcome, members, guests, families etc. If that isn't happening, then instead of having a row about it, find out why and try and make sure it doesn't happen again.
Ed, mate, you're better than that. Having a go at someone for being "hired help" is a bit OTT.