FLANKER FIGHTER FORM GUIDE FLATTED FIFTH FLUTTER · EAST & WEST – SPRING 2018 3 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT April 2018 18 Young members’ dinner 25 Wellington Barracks visit 26 St George’s

Issue number 100 Spring 2018

FORM GUIDEFLANKER FIGHTER FLUTTERFLATTED FIFTH

3EAST & WEST – SPRING 2018

CHAI

RMAN

’S R

EPOR

T

April 201818 Young members’ dinner25 Wellington Barracks visit26 St George’s day dinner

May7 Bank holiday9 AGM18 Evening of jazz21 Wine Tour of Bordeaux 28 Bank holiday

June9 RAF Ball

July1 Cricket match vs Chobham13 Jazz barbecue17 Wine tasting

August27 Bank holiday

September19 Library lecture and dinner21 Evening of jazz24 Lord Mayor’s luncheon21 Grouse dinner

Sunday lunchOn most Sundays, a sumptuous lunch buffet is provided to the accompaniment of a pianist.

Bank holidays Bars and catering are closed over bank holidays from after breakfast on Sunday throughout Monday. Accommodation and continental breakfast are provided.

Club diary

Editor: Charlie Jacoby 07850 195353 [email protected]

Designer: Chris Haddon 07792 515056 [email protected]

Sub-editor: Lucy Sloan

Photography: Phil McCarthy. To download or order photography, login to the members’ area of EastIndiaClub.com and select event photographyPrinted by: Colour3 (ColourCubed.co.uk)

Published on behalf of The East India Club by Charlie Jacoby, c/o The East India Club www.charliejacoby.com

Cover photo: the Front Hall

East & West

2 017 concluded with a busy club programme, on consecutive nights in December, including the tri clubs party

and carol concert, featuring the impressive Gentlemen of Hampton Court. These events were well supported and a good number of members demonstrated serious festive cheer and stamina in attending both in the run-up to our Christmas closure. We reopened in January with the traditional staff party, where staff and their partners celebrate, and your committee act as barmen for the evening as a mark of appreciation for their efforts. On that note I am pleased to report that members have once again been generous in their donations to the staff fund which maintained the higher levels seen in 2016. I would also like to congratulate Tim Wilks who has recently completed 30 years’ employment with the club.

Sport was a rollercoaster throughout autumn, winter and spring. Showing a more reliable pattern, club events included Christmas festivities, popular dinners with a Scottish and English theme, and a general feeling of oasis in St James’s.

Club plans for 2018 include a continuation of the room refurbishment programme as 12 rooms on the first and second floors are due to be upgraded. Phase one is already well underway and the second floor should be completed by the end of March. We are also planning to refresh the website, in particular to provide a more interactive approach allowing members additional functionality and improving member communications. I can however confirm that the East & West magazine will continue to be published three times a year.

The calendar for the first quarter has already produced memorable events. The dinner for fathers and daughters was an

excellent evening with businesswoman and television personality Dr Margaret Mountford providing sound career advice for the next generation as well as recalling the lighter moments of working with Lord Sugar on The Apprentice. Another speaker of merit, Dr David Purdie, once again supplied the cultural side of the Burns’ Night supper. I congratulate Andy MacDonald who has taken on the role of organiser for this celebration of all things Scottish. He has a tough act to follow but received the president’s seal of approval after another successful night.

The UK has been hit by many beasts from the East. According to our recent library lecture, this could refer to Vladimir Putin. Club member Franz Sedelmayer presented his autobiographical book Welcome to Putingrad which recounted his business experiences in St Petersburg as Russia, under Presidents Yeltsin and then Putin, descended into a kleptocracy with state-sponsored organised crime. This was topical coming shortly after the popular McMafia TV drama. Only a few weeks later, the events in Salisbury provided a more chilling reminder that this country is not insulated from the actions of the Russians. It was 10 years ago that former KGB operative Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London and by eerie coincidence his widow Marina was a guest at the club for Franz’s lecture.

After the disappointment of losing the Ashes over the winter, as much for the performance as the result, there was extra anticipation for the 2018 Six Nations championship. It was a rollercoaster tournament with all home nations capable of winning on any particular day. Ireland was deserved victor of the grand slam. In the club, the rugby lunches, organised

by Matt Ebsworth, continue to be a draw.

Next, we host the young members’ dinner and, after that, the St George’s Day dinner, a key date in the diary is guaranteed to

boost English morale. Looking further ahead we will be staging a club ball on Saturday 9 June and the ever popular Jazz barbeque in July. In addition we have the debentures available for Lords and the Ascot box for the Royal meeting. Let us hope for a glorious summer and I urge you to sign up for these events and take advantage of the club’s social activities. Duncan Steele-Bodger, chairman

After the disappointment of losing the Ashes, there was extra anticipation for the Six Nations

The chairman speaking at the members’ and daughters’ dinner

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

2 EAST & WEST – SPRING 2018

The East India Club 16 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LH Telephone: 020 7930 1000 Fax: 020 7321 0217 Email: [email protected] Web: www.eastindiaclub.co.ukDINING ROOM Breakfast Monday to Friday 6.45am-10am Saturday 7.15am-10am Sunday 8am-10amLunch Monday to Friday 12.30pm-2.30pm Sunday (buffet) 12.30pm-2.30pm (pianist until 4pm)Saturday sandwich menu availableDinner Monday to Saturday 6.30pm-9.30pm Sundays (light supper) 6.30pm-8.30pmTable reservations should be made with the Front Desk or the Dining Room and will only be held for 15 minutes after the booked time. Pre-theatre, let the Dining Room know if you would like a quick supper.AMERICAN BAR Monday to Friday 11.30am-11pm Saturday 11.30am-3pm & 5.30pm-11pm Sunday noon-4pm & 6.30pm-10pmMembers resident at the club can obtain drinks from the hall porter after the bar has closed. EAST INDIA ROOM Monday to Friday. Light food and wine menu. Use of electronic devices on silent is permissible.SMOKING ROOM & WATERLOO ROOM Drinks and light menu from 9am to 10.30pm. Saturday and Sunday 10am to 10pm.BILLIARDS ROOM Open to members from 9am to midnight. Pass keys will not be issued after 11pm.GYMNASIUM Open to members from 6am to 10pm. Suitable attire must be worn.BEDROOM CHARGES (from 2018) Includes early morning tea, English breakfast, discretionary £5 per person per night contribution to the staff fund, and VAT. All bedrooms are non smoking.Members & immediate family Single ensuite £124 (£75*) Single with small shower £103 (£64*) Single without facilities £83 (£54*) Double or twin room for single occupancy £168 Double or twin room for double occupancy £182 St James’s Suite £302Reciprocal members & guests Single ensuite £156 (£98*) Single with small shower £137 (£87*) Double or twin room for single occupancy £196 Double or twin room for double occupancy £215 St James’s Suite £335* Special rate on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and bank holidaysMEMBERSHIP CARDS Members are required to carry their membership cards at all times when visiting the club, and present them on arrival. It is essential that they are produced when signing for charges to accounts.

The East IndiaClub directory

CLUB WINE:See page 17 for details

Golf teesTin of 50 ‘personalised’ East India golf tees. £7.75

Golf ballsTitleist golf balls. Bearing club crest. £29 per dozen

Mug£14

Chocolate mint creams £8

Ties Silk woven tie in club colours. £20

Blazers £395 (navy) £350 (sports)

Blazer buttonsDouble breasted. £50Single breasted. £35

Post and packing for non-breakables from £3. Breakable items are for collection

from the club instead of posting.

View from the garden Print of the club exterior. £65

Club shield£35

Compact mirror£22

Cut glass tumbler Engraved with club crest. £30

The East India Club – A Historyby Charlie Jacoby.An up-to-date look at the characters who have made up the East India Club. £10

Waistcoat £160

Decanter £85

UmbrellasShort. £20 Long. £25

GIFT SUGGESTIONS FROMTHE SECRETARY’S OFFICE

Bow tiesTie your own and, for emergencies, clip on. £20

CufflinksEnamelled cufflinks with club crest, chain or bar. £24.50

Scarf£17

Hatband£15

Polo shirtIn red or black, L, XL, XXL. £28

V-neck jumper Lambswool in burgundy, L, XL, XXL. £55

Napkin hook £40

Rugby ball£25

The Gentlemen’s Clubs of London New edition of Anthony Lejeune’s classic. £28

Notelets£3.75


NEW

S

Snooker

P resided over by the ever-enthusiastic Alan Kurtz, the draw for the London clubs’ competition

gave us a bye in the first round this year. Last year, we lost in the semi-final to tournament winner Brooks’s.

We played the St James’s Cup vs the RAC away in October. The teams field six players each. Luke Gibson and Dave Creamer made their debut appearances for the club. At the break for dinner, we trailed 4-2, needing to win all the doubles frames to retain the cup. Steady performances from Jack Swindon and Luke Gibson left the match hanging on the final frame. Riddled with misses and flukes, Dave Cream-er took a long black over the top corner for the match. The RAC will be determined to get their revenge.

Oxford & Cambridge played their first friendly match against us on our tables. We played confidently throughout and, with the welcome return of stalwart Bradley Stanton, we were 7-2 winners, despite the high break of the evening of 29 from O&C captain David Bolton.

Look out for the new interclub individual tournament at the start of the summer. Interested? email [email protected]

Photo found pinned to the noticeboard. The club reminds members of the dress code while in the club. What members look like outside the club is, of course, up to them.

Baize brilliance

T he club’s casino evening flouts every moral uttering on gambling you may have heard in the past few months.

The reasons is that, despite the genuinely happy faces of J7s and their guests who were winning, the money they were using is not real. The emotion is real enough, and a superb evening in the Smoking Room to the accompaniment of a band saw the creation of plenty of new James Bonds and Vesper Lynds.

High rollers

There were winners...

...and there were losers

A spectacular night at the tables

There were big winners...

by Hassan Zamir

Eastindiaman

M embers of the club shooting section gathered in South Devon in early December

for a challenging day of high swirling pheasants in the South Hams, writes William Downie. This is the sixth year in succession that members have enjoyed a day’s game shooting at Gara Barton and the excellent hospitality provided by the owners, John and Sue Potter. The club team is now regarded as family and always receives the heartiest welcome. The trip to Devon no longer just includes the game shooting. Culinary evenings are now an integral part of the weekends to be enjoyed by all those attending. Organised for this season was a visit to a local Italian restaurant on the Friday for a wine tasting and supper followed by a steak dinner at a local hostelry on the Saturday at which members were allowed to open their own wine for a private tasting. For the 2018/19 season a pheasant day and a snipe day in North Devon are being organised alongside some interesting culinary evening events.

More shorts

Straight shots

Shooting members (left-right): Dr Peter Lilius, Henry Armstrong, Steve Revell, William Downie and Jim Lyon

Battlefield tour

Backgammon

C lub members are due to set off on a battlefield tour of Anzio and Monte Cassino on 13 April (after East &

West goes to press). Led by Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts, it includes visits to Monte Cassino abbey, cemetery, the battlefield of Anzio and some time in Rome.

W ith a couple of matches left to play, the club is lying seventh in the London clubs’ league,

equal with Home House and ahead of the Groucho and the Chelsea Arts Club. Go to LondonBackgammonLeague.com


C aptain’s Day, our last golfing event of the year at Worplesdon had Alan Botterill (38 pts) ahead of Ian Holmes

(32) with club chairman Duncan Steele-Bodger third (31). John Luke was nearest the pin and Adam Stevens achieved the longest drive. John Braithwaite defeated James Bell in the final of the Millennium Cup.

Our day at the Ascot races utilising the club box was fun and will be repeated this year. Chris Salmon and Leigh Evans, certainly frightened the bookmakers, selecting the winning horse in each of the first five races.

In November we resurrected and hosted the annual dinner with Royal Blackheath GC.

Christmas lunch at the club allowed us to reminisce on the season past and look forward to the next – good food, wine, carols and joke telling being the traditional ingredients.

NEW

S

The club’s sporting programme takes place all year round, with enthusiasm for all kinds of minor sports, and the big spectator sports of cricket and rugby well served by our debentures.

GOLFERS’ FULL SEASON

Society, the other hosted by our friends at the Caledonian Club. Mike Lewis was the after dinner speaker at the EPICS annual dinner in March.

Our golfing meetings this year are at our old favourites, St George’s Hill, Woking, New Zealand and Worplesdon. In addition we have matches against Farmers’ Club, Reform Club, Oriental Club, Caledonian Club, Royal Blackheath, Wrotham Heath, The Bar and a new fixture against Huntercombe.

The tour this September will be revisiting Perth and will be hosted by the Royal Perth Golfing Society.

We welcome new members, young and mature and of all abilities; our programme is posted on the club notice board and detailed on our section of the club website.

If you wish to become an EPIC then add your name to the list on the notice board or contact the captain at [email protected]

Celebration as RAF hits its century

by Ben Hurworth

Ian Holmes, Alan Botterill and Duncan Steele-Bodger at Worplesdon

Chris Salmon and Leigh Evans at Ascot. There are still dates for all members to book the club’s box at Ascot. Please contact the secretary

I t’s the year to reach in and find your inner Biggles. This year not only celebrates 100 years of the RAF but

also 75 years since the Dambusters’ Raid. To mark the anniversary, the club is holding a ball to honour all the men and women who shaped the RAF over the past 100 years.

Our new year commenced with two formal dinners, one at the club with the Bar Golfing

The evening will include a Champagne reception, dinner with wine and port, music from the 1940s by eight-piece band Down for the Count. Dress code is period dress or black tie. Tickets are £120 and guests are limited to three per member. Please contact the secretary or book via the booking slip.

T he polo section goes from strength to strength in terms of numbers on the mailing list (now

standing at 210) and I would like to take this opportunity to thank members for their continued support. We had some great days out last year.

The 2017 season took us on two trips to Guards’ Polo Club and one private event at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to watch their cadets play other military sides. We aim to do four events this year: meet at the club late morning, drive up in a minibus, spectate the polo with fellow members and their guests, enjoy drinks in spectacular polo venues and return late afternoon to the club.

Polo

Rowing

A s we approach the peak of the English Social Season that is Henley Royal Regatta, and

the time approaches to dust off the old boating blazer, it also means that the club’s rowing section is sorting out its social plans, which will include tables in the Leander members’ marquee for lunch during Henley week. We are also looking to invite a senior rowing guest or two to join our party. Meanwhile, the spring brings with it two events, the first being the end of the head season and big races. The club entered an eight into the Head of the River Race on Sunday 11 March. Other members watched from Auriol Kensington, which also hosted members and guests for the Boat Race in what turned out to be a triumphant year for Cambridge. Not since 1997 had the Light Blues beaten their age-old rivals in all four of the men’s and women’s Blues and reserve races.

Good sticks

Mileage makes champions

by Harman Gill

by Rory Hunt and Ron Collins

Sports shorts


MEMBERS’ & DAUGHTERS’ DINNER

FATH

ERS

& D

AUGH

TERS

In the second of the club’s members’ and daughters’ dinners, businesswoman and TV celebrity Dr Margaret Mountford gave the after-dinner speech. She gave both generations career advice and touched on some of the funnier moments working with Lord Sugar on The Apprentice.

D rinks in the Smoking Room followed by dinner gave both members and their daughters a full evening’s

entertainment. Best known for her role in television’s The Apprentice, Dr Mountford is a successful businesswoman as well. After working as a lawyer with Herbert Smith, she took on roles as non-executive director at Amstrad and Georgica. She also chairs the board of governors of St Marylebone, an inner-London Church of England comprehensive school.

Michael and Phoebe Blythin

Dr Margaret Mountford

Gordon and Fiona Kenneth

Richard Wheeler and Joanna Hook

Daniel Cartwright and Niamh Cartwright

Mark and Isabel Fisher

Chris and Victoria Payne

Finding the funny in a cheese-topped bunny

Recently a diner at the club commented that the menu is wrong and that Welsh rarebit is

misspelt as Welsh rabbit. This is not a typing error. Most establishments which serve it describe it as rarebit, but it was originally known as rabbit. The East India Club is not, and never will be, like ‘most’ establishments.

There is no evidence that the Welsh actually originated Welsh rabbit although they have long had the reputation for having a passion for it. A 14th century text tells the tale that the Welsh were being troublesome in heaven. St Peter went outside the pearly gates and shouted ‘caws pobi’, Welsh for toasted cheese, whereupon the Welsh rushed out and the

gates shut behind them. Andrew Boorde in his Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge of 1542 wrote: ‘I am a Welshman, I do love cause boby (sic) - good roasted cheese’.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, ‘Welsh’ (to the English) meant inferior or a substitute. A ‘Welsh pearl’ was a poor quality or false pearl and to use a Welsh comb was to pull your fingers through your hair. Welsh rabbit is another joke: they can’t afford rabbit meat to feed their families.

The first literary record of Welsh rabbit comes in John Byron’s Literary Remains of 1725: ‘I did not eat of cold beef, but of Welsh rabbit and stewed cheese’. It was another 60 years before Francis Grose recorded the name Welsh ‘rarebit’ in his A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

So who is right? We turn to Fowler. In his 1926 edition of The Dictionary of Modern English Usage, grammarian HW Fowler states strongly: ‘Welsh Rabbit is amusing and right. Welsh Rarebit is stupid and wrong’. Perhaps it is more about the joke. According to the American satirist Ambrose Bierce, in his 1911 Devil’s Dictionary: ‘Rarebit n. A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humorless, who point out that it is not a rabbit. To whom it may be solemnly explained that the comestible known as toad in the hole is really not a toad, and that ris de veau a la financiere is not the smile of a calf prepared after the recipe of a she-banker”. To that, I would add mock turtle soup, Bombay duck and, thankfully, spotted dick. For me, it will always be Welsh rabbit, and long may the rabbit be rampant.

by Mark Leach, chef de cuisine


R ichard Sainsbury, chairman of the Arrow Trophy management committee, is due to speak at the

club yacht squadron’s annual fitting out supper on 12 April (after East & West goes to press).

The Arrow Trophy is a sailing competition between independent schools, raced as an annual weekend regatta, in one-design yachts crewed by former pupils. Pictures on this page were taken by the club’s own commodore, Jim Miller, who last year crewed the Carthusian boat, with a spectacular Afterguard, helmed by a former skipper of Great Britain, with a Flying Dutchman world champion on Trim, a current Royal Southampton YC double-hander champion at Tactician and a former commodore of RORC at Crew Boss.

The event takes place on the challenging waters of the Solent, aboard Sunsail’s fleet of F40 yachts. The yachts are collected from Port Solent (Portsmouth) on Friday, and sailed, or motored, over to Cowes Yacht Haven. The organising authority is the Royal London Yacht Club and the race format is short fleet racing on Saturday, finishing up in Cowes late afternoon, followed by the Arrow Trophy dinner at Cowes Yacht Haven.

The top four teams from the fleet races then go into a series of match races on Sunday to determine the overall winner of the Arrow Trophy, whilst the remaining

SUM

MER

SPO

RTS

The club’s yacht squadron commodore commends the Arrow Trophy to members, an inter-schools series of races in the Solent in which he took part in 2017. And the man who organises it all is booked to speak to members.

SACRED COWEScompetitors fleet race to determine the winner of the Charterhouse Bowl. In total, there are five trophies to be won.

Most crews choose to sleep on board the yachts, but there are rooms available at the various Cowes yacht clubs and B&Bs and links are supplied on the race schedule page.

Sunsail’s F40 fleet has been developed from the Beneteau First 40. Whilst Sunsail say these can be operated by an experienced crew of eight, we require a minimum of nine

T he cricket section is going from strength to strength after celebrating its ten-year

anniversary with a fantastic dinner with Clive Lloyd last October. The section is now gearing up for another busy season with ten plus fixtures already confirmed and several more, including a tour, in the pipeline.

Socials and net sessions (which are also very sociable) at both Lords and the Oval have been planned for between now and the start of the season in May. Due to the number of games that we have, we are always looking for people to join the section and make their debut for the club, regardless of cricketing ability. If you are interested in getting involved in any capacity, please email [email protected]

Cricket 2018 calendar11 April, 7-9pm, nets (training), Lords19 April, 7-9pm, nets (training), Oval26 April, 7-9pm, nets (training), Oval20 May, match, opposition TBC, location Greenwich3 June, match, vs Rascals CC , Ticehurst, East Sussex10 June, match, vs Carlton Club, Greenwich Park13 June, match, vs RAC, Battersea Park16 June, match, vs Errantes CC, Greenwich Park24 June, match, vs Oriental Club, St Dunstans College, London1 July, match, vs Chobham CC21 July, match, vs Chelsea Arts Club, Harrow School28 July, match, vs Matfield Green CC, Surrey5 August, match, vs Crown Taverners CC, Surrey25 August, match, vs Blindley Heath CC, Surrey9 September, match, vs Old Paulines CC, Thames Ditton

Cricket

Sports tourersby Ed Case

Mikado, possibly the oldest yacht racing in the UK, here raced by Lord Briggs of Westbourne with the Chichester Cruiser Racing Club, approaching the Carthusian boat 4024 for a close sail past under full sail between races one and two, during the 2017 Arrow Trophy

An Old Carthusian steers his boat to another second out of 24 in race two of the 2017 trophy

Looking back at about 230 degrees to the windward mark, Egypt Point behind

Boats tucked up in Squadron Haven

crew (maximum of 12) and are allowing up to three declared ‘ringers’ who are not former pupils of the school they are sailing for. The spinnaker is 128 square metres of sail (dip pole system) and needs firm handling! Onboard sleeping accomodation is eight. For more, visit ArrowTrophy.org.uk

Advance warning: the annual laying up supper will be held this year on Friday 9 November 2018. The club’s side in Malta


It is billed as ‘the incredible story of the only man to collect money from Vladimir Putin’, and it happened to a member. Franz Sedelmayer has catalogued his dealings with modern Russia in a new book, Welcome to Putingrad. He came to the club to tell his story to members and guests, including human rights activist Marina Litvinenko .

HOW TO DEAL WITH VLAD THE IMPROPER

F ranz Sedelmayer’s story – as told in the club at the library lecture – starts in Russia in the 1990s, where he set

about building a successful police supply and training company. One of his biggest supporters was St Petersburg’s young deputy mayor, a former KGB lieutenant colonel named Vladimir Putin. The two bonded. For Putin, Franz created and trained the KGB’s first western-style SWAT team.

Dinner and questions-and-answers took place in the East India Room

Franz Sedelmayer signed copies of his book

in 2006. She says of Franz’s book, “Many people have been wronged by the Kremlin. Few dared to fight back. Franz Sedelmayer did — and won!”

Franz says there is a Russian saying attributed to Putin that defines the current situation in Russia succinctly: “For my enemies, the law, for my friends, everything.”

He adds, “I shake my head in disbelief and wish for the Volodya [Vladimir] I knew in St Petersburg. Unfortunately for me – and the rest of the world as well – that particular Volodya is as

dead as Boris Nemtsov or Sacha Litvinenko. He’s been replaced by an evil meme, a greedy zombie, a caricature of the manly man: Putin the Great bareback on a horse, Putin the Brave in scuba gear, Putin the Deadly on the shooting range, Putin the Athlete playing ice hockey with the national

team, Putin the Ninja in the dojo, tossing opponents

left and right.“

Maybe, by Russian standards, Franz was too successful. In 1996, his Russian company was expropriated by President Boris Yeltsin. Putin, ambitious, political, and ruthless, let it happen. And because he did, he landed his first Moscow post.

Franz sought arbitration and won – but Russia refused to pay damages. Undeterred, Franz waged a 20-year campaign against the Kremlin and its current president, his former friend. He foreclosed on Russian state property in western Europe. Incredibly, Franz is the only individual ever to collect money from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Among guests at the lecture was author and human rights activist Marina Litvinenko, widow of former Russian Federal Security Service officer Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned by the Russians in London

LIBR

ARY

LECT

URE


LIBR

ARY

LECT

URES

A message from the Pigeon Loft

Sitting in our garden in the middle of the square (having first borrowed the key from our front desk), the

pigeon lofter recalled with particular pleasure walking into the hills of southern Spain about a mile from the coast. He had just left the top of one of the hills and was beginning the return stretch when he took a break, and leaned against the wall of a derelict farm.

A number of goats came over the brow of the hill. All of a sudden he found himself confronted by 70 of them, with two dogs in charge of the herd in the middle of them. They all stood – ‘nor breath’, as the

poet has it, ‘nor motion’ – looking at him. With no imminent arrival of a herdsman, the pigeon lofter was completely on his own. It will not surprise anyone to hear that he took immediate action. Looking at the dogs he patted his leg and said: “Aren’t you coming to say ‘hello’?”. At once the first dog came up, stood in front of him and lowered its head to receive a gentle pat. Then the pigeon lofter pointed down the track and said, “Off you go,” and away it dashed, followed by half of the goat herd. The rest remained with the second dog which was waiting to be called forward for its pat. Then it was their turn to be off. At that moment the herdsman appeared, all smiles and ready

to exchange a few words before catching up with the herd.

Before returning to the clubhouse, the pigeon lofter thought with pleasure how easy it is to establish contact with club members, too, even with those he has never met before.This is particularly effortless at the club table. On arrival, young and old introduce themselves and the conversation stays general for a while until two or three hit on a topic which particularly interests them. But beware. It can take hold of you. Not long ago this pigeon lofter and another member maintained a conversation of nearly three hours. Is that a record? Probably not. It would not be wise for the pigeon lofter to impart this to those dogs in charge of the goat herd in Spain. It might discourage them from having another meeting.

by Alan Taylor

Parts and labour

A dam Kay first specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology – or ‘parts and labour’ as he calls it. He is

now a commentator on the state of the NHS generally and doctoring in particular. The British like to face adversity with humour, and Adam deals with one of the country’s most adverse subjects in fabulously dry style. In This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries

Y ou may not know how important horses were to that great Englishman Winston Churchill.

Brough Scott’s book Churchill at the Gallop: Winston’s Life in the Saddle reveals how they were his escape in childhood, his challenge in youth, his transport in war, his triumph in sport and his diversion in old age. In an evening lecture in the Smoking Room, followed by dinner and a question-and-answer session with the author, Brough Scott followed in Churchill’s hoofprints from galloping his pony around the grounds of

The remarkable racing journalist, radio and television presenter Brough Scott came to the club, as did former doctor and now comedian Adam Kay, both with their new books in hand, and both to deliver superb library lectures

CHURCHILL ON HORSES

An elderly Winston Churchill out riding

Brough Scott and his book, Churchill at the Gallop Adam Kay in full flow

Library committee chairman St John Brown

A packed Smoking Room listens to the author

The Duke of Westminster, Coco Chanel and Winston boarhunting in France

Blenheim Palace, to topping the riding class whilst army training at Sandhurst, taking part in a famous cavalry charge in Sudan – some say the British army’s last cavalry charge – playing polo in India, hunting foxes

in Leicestershire and breeding racehorses near his home in Kent, with a short interlude out of the saddle winning a war.

of a Junior Doctor, he shows hospital doctors, and in particular himself, as poorly paid, undervalued and grossly neglected professionals who are unfailingly willing to give up their own time for free to do battle with the health of the nation. And still he makes it funny.


Muddy but unbowed: the club side that played Merlins

Simon Horner touches down for the club

RUGB

Y

JPR next to his picture in the Rugby Room

Drinks in the Clive Room before lunch

Matthew Ebsworth (left) talks to John

The Dining Room was full for lunch

T he rugby lunches take place in the days before England’s Six Nations matches. Organised by Matthew

Ebsworth, they included a memorable lunch before the Wales game with speaker JPR Williams. Held as a question-and-answer session with first Matthew, then members and guests asking the questions, John Williams charmed the audience with his honest and straightforward replies.

The match the following day at Twickenham saw England beat Wales 12-6, but the day before – even with some admission that it might go that way – there was fire in the Welsh who attended.

JPR’s lunch

The club side and the London Japanese team They won 42-35. We scored one more try but less conversions


D espite the sapping mud and cold for both sides a surprisingly fast-moving match against the Merlins

took place in February. Although a defeat for the club, skills and endeavour where on show in this heavy-going fixture.

A gallery of pictures are in event photography in the members are of the club’s website.

The season concludes with a match against Hampstead.

RUGB

Y

It is 10 years since Jonathan Taylor organised a team for the Heineken 10s tournament followed by the club rugby’s first XV match against Chiswick. This season, matches include Merlins, London Japanese and Sherborne Pilgrims.

CLUB COMPETES HARD

Keenly contested line-outsPlayers, including section chairman James Hornigold (right)

Simon Bright majestically hoofs the ball

Neil Wharton refereed in difficult conditions

Jacob Bray bulldozes over

Forward rucking to set up the backs

Hugh Orton runs hard at the opposition


CHRI

STM

AS

Club carol concert

In a break with tradition, the club fielded professional singers for its annual carol concert, rather than an invited schools

choir. The Gentlemen of Hampton Court produced a glorious collection of carols both for them selves to sing and for members and guests to join in.

S pike Wells is no ordinary musician. A recording by Dizzy Gillespie sparked his interest in jazz. He took up the

drums in his early teens and later had lessons with former Miles Davis drummer Philly Joe Jones. He read Greats at Oxford, where he met former club chairman Iain Wolsey, and qualified as a solicitor. After practising law for 22 years, he developed a strong sense of vocation that led him to become a deacon in the Church of England when he was 49 and a year later to take early retirement from the bank and become a stipendiary curate at St Peter’s Church, Brighton. He now works as both a priest and a musician, and brought his choice of musicians to the club in February.

The club’s musical life swells and fills the clubhouse. It reached St James’s Church over Christmas with the tri clubs’ carol service. Back at the clubhouse are the evenings of jazz.

SPIRITUAL JAZZ

Members and guests in the Smoking Room Spike talks us through the tunes

Members and guests enjoyed drinks, dinner... ...and carols

The Gentlemen of Hampton Court led the singing

Three clubs come together in their parish church

Members and guests filled the church

The chairman gives a reading

Caricaturist at the party in the club afterwards

The Spike Wells trio underway

A s a prelude to the winter party, the club joins the other two clubs in St James’s Square for a joint carol

service at St James’s Piccadilly. Members and guests from the East India, the Rag and the In & Out feel how much they are part of th St James’s parish community, thanks to the church’s remarkable vicar, the Rev Lucy Winkett, well-known to listeners of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Our Christopher Wren-designed church is a centre of worship throughout the year, and also has a world-class reputation for classical music concerts, which also take place all year round, too. Among musical treats in May are Brahms’ Symphony No 4 in E minor and music by the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. For more, visit SJP.org.uk

Tri club carols


S ome but not much fishing was had in the winter months. Among activities, the section went grayling fishing at

Wherwell. Highlight of the season was the annual dinner and casting competition. After an excellent supper, in company with the Lawyers’ Fishing Club, and after listening to angling poetry by Alasdair Shaikh, members and guests went to the East India Room for the annual casting competition, where fixtures and fittings take the place of eddies and swirls.

Now summer is upon us, we are looking forward to a series of reservoir days and the section’s rented water on the Loddon.

EVEN

TS

You cannot beat Burns for pure expression of English, and so here is his description of what Burns Night has become: ‘Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.’

HIGHLAND HEARTS

Carl Statham

The casting competition commences

Members and guests in the East India Room

Joint winners Stephen Beverley (left) and Jonathan Stevens from the Lawyers’ Fishing Club

Casting competition

T he Scottish made their presence felt for the club’s annual Burns Night celebration. Members and guests

gathered in the Smoking Room for drinks, and then went downstairs to the Dining Room for Scottish fare led by the great chieftain o’ the puddin’-race, the haggis. Organised by Andy Macdonald and attended by Micky and Muff Steele-Bodger, whose idea it originally was, the evening included poems, speeches and a lecture about the life of Robbie Burns, delivered by Dr David Purdie. And as for Micky? ‘Gie him strong drink until he wink...’

Fishing

We learn how Holy Willy meets Cutty Sark thanks to Donald McPherson

The arrival of the haggis

Keith Wallace addresses the haggis – sort ofKatie Dowding replies for the lassies

The protagonists


WIN

E

White wine tasting

The club head sommelier Eric Lagré held a white wine tasting in the Clive Room in January

specifically for young members and guests. Next tasting is Andalusian wine on 17 July. Please contact the secretary, fill in the booking slip or go online to book your space.

M arc and Agnes Lurton came to the club to celebrate our 40th year buying Château Reynier. Their 40

hectares (100 acres) of rolling countryside in the Entre-Deux-Mers region, south-east of Bordeaux, close to the picturesque village of Grezillac, is centred around a chateau that dates back to the 15th century and was, we understand, a staging post for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Marc told the story of his internationally famous family (which own such names as La Louviere, Brane Cantenac, Dufort Vivens), how his grandfather sold his half of Château Margaux to buy Clos Fourtet which eventually led to providing each of his sons with their own chateau. Marc’s father, Dominique, was given Château Reynier, Andre Château Bonnet and Lucien Château Bran Cantenac.

John Owen, wine committee chairman 40 years’ ago, was already familiar with Château Reynier wines through his wine company Fields. After identifying, selecting, tasting and discussing a number of wines the club selected it and, through Marc and his father, the relationship was formed.

Since that time, I firmly believe (and members obviosly agree - as we consume some 10,000 bottles of club claret each year) that the quality of Marc’s wine has not only been maintained, but has improved.

In addition, the club has benefitted through the most advantageous price that Marc gives us, particularly when one considers that Marc is willing then to store it for us (fully insured) and free of charge, currently for some five years, as club members like our club claret to have some age and maturity.

Marc’s wine is bred to accompany food and for this reason, along with the value for money it provides, it is so popular in the dining room. Marc tries to keep the alcohol content to a sensible 12.5%.

He does all this, despite the vagaries of winemaking. Particularly difficult years were 2013 (hail stones) and 2017 (frost).

In 1997 John and fellow wine committee member Robin Beckwith proposed and seconded Marc to membership of the club. Marc says that since that day he has been proud to be a member of the club. “I feel at home when I am staying there and everyone is nice to me,” he says.

The club’s relationship with wine matures and refines with events to mark our long association with the club claret, Château Reynier, and tastings for port and white wine.

FORTY YEARS OF REYNIER

Marc and his remarkable bottle

David Cartwright introduces Marc Lurton of Château Reynier to members and guests

H aving invited prominent figures from the port industry to talk us through their wines over the

previous two years, namely winemaker David Guimaraens of the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Wiese & Krohn), Johnny Symington then joint president of Symington Family Estates (Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and many more brands), I would have thought that members had had enough of port, but the event became fully booked instantly.

Ernest Cockburn used to say that ‘the first duty of Port is to be red’, but white port is produced in a variety of styles ranging from extra-dry to very sweet (or lágrima). If standard white port proves rather banal on its own, it is refreshingly first class when served as a portonic. It is a revival in mixology that led TFP’s managing director Adrian Bridge to launch Croft Pink, the first ever rosé port, back in 2008. Then in 2016, Cruz Porto cemented their dominance of the French market thanks to their ‘Cruz Fresco’ campaign, which invited consumers to enjoy standard red port on ice with a slice of orange. All the attendees tried those wines politely, patiently waiting to move on to more substantial styles.

As the middle classes regained buying power after the war, they cried out for a wine between the fiery port found in pubs and the fine vintage ports slowly matured in gentlemen’s clubs. Cockburn’s answer was to launch its Special Reserve in 1969. Thanks to the funniest of TV campaigns (check it on YouTube) the wine established itself as the single best-selling brand on the market. In 1970, Alistair Robertson of Taylor’s introduced a filtered version of late-bottled vintage port, close in style to vintage port. I served the 2007 Dow’s to demonstrate how youthful the colour of a young vintage port looked in comparison. It was a sacrilege to pop the cork so prematurely, yet the chocolate-sauce quality of the wine was delightful regardless. In contrast, the outstanding 1992 Taylor’s, which now graces our wine list, has developed into a complex offering akin to liquid fruitcake.

Many members still find the concept of ‘classic vintage declaration” rather mysterious. Every question on that subject will, I hope, be answered by David Guimaraens in the autumn. Stay tuned.

Rainbow of styles

by David Cartwright

by Eric Lagré, head sommelier

Eric in full flow


In September 2017, Andrew Farquharson set out from the East India Club to the Islamabad Club in Pakistan. Nothing unusual in that, except he decided to travel there in his Land Rover Defender via the ’stans and China. Pour that man a drink.

TOOLING OVER THE KHUNJERAB PASS

Twenty-two countries, two months, 8,500 miles and worth every moment

“

overwhelming and the first thing they offer you at the customs and immigration is a cup of tea.”

The drive down the KKH (Karakoram highway) was spectacular – “albeit a little scary with the overwhelming number of black Taliban flags north of Gilgit,” he says. “After a night in this town we were escorted by four different armed policemen who rode inside my Land Rover until they felt we were out of the danger zone.”

Then to Islamabad and Lahore. It was 22 countries, two months and around 8,500 miles – “and worth every moment”.

The Islamabad Club is well positioned at the top end of the main Murree Road to Rawalpindi, and has a golf course and riding academy alongside it. These have pleasant walking tracks through them. There are various dining options including the pool café and a dining area at the golf club, together with a casual and smart dress

restaurant in the main clubhouse. “The only thing it misses is a licensed bar as cups of tea and fruit juice do not quite have the same effect after a long day trudging round the city,” says Andrew. “This means it doesn’t have the same feel as the bar at the East India. The club does however have quite

a family feel to it, and it is quite nice seeing younger people escaping from the dust of the city.”

MEM

BER

PROF

ILE

A ndrew Farquharson visited the Islamabad Club in 2009 and thought at the time what a good idea it

would be to arrive there from the UK in his own vehicle. After planning and research regarding visas and vehicle permissions, the vehicle was primed and the adventure set.

He chose a route through Europe to Slovenia, then the Balkans into Bulgaria. The Land Rover took him across the north of Turkey to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, through the Dagestan part of Russia, around the north of the Caspian Sea and all the ’stans before climbing into China.

One of the high spots was crossing the highest border post in the world, the Khunjerab Pass into Pakistan. At more than 5,000 metres, it also has the highest ATM in the world. Timing was important. The entry from China into Pakistan was determined by the snowfall in the Karakoram mountains. “There had been snow in early October,” says Andrew, “and when we approached around the 23rd of the month, quite a lot more had fallen. This is a major trading route for China and they keep it open as long as possible but still it means the route will be closed from around the end of October to early April. After the oppression we witnessed in China the welcome in Pakistan was quite


M embership remained at optimum

at the year end. The annual renewal window has closed and the committee requires the front

hall staff to be even more diligent in asking members to show their membership card on arrival. One helpful suggestion is a different colour card each year to help the staff in this important duty, or the possible option for a card which facilitates swipe-in and use of services when in the club. As we explore these ideas please feel free to offer your thoughts.

For members who, for whatever reason, want to give up membership: you are encouraged to send in a formal resignation rather than simply let your membership run out. The club likes to keep abreast of the reasons for the ebb and flow of members.

The refurbishment of six-and-a-half second-floor bedrooms in the middle of the building is almost complete. It will be followed by the refurbishment of six first-

floor rooms in midsummer. There are other repair and maintenance

projects on the cards for the year, all of which are managed according to our five-year rolling plan for refurbishment. This enables the relevant committees to see what is coming, and to guide commitments.

The big staff announcement is that at the end of March our reliable and capable breakfast chef Genevevo ‘Bibo’ Ratio (see East & West, August 2012) will retire having completed just shy of 20 years’ service.

Bibo was recruited to the club’s kitchen by chef Mark Leach and has been a great success. He was 70 years-old in January. He says he is looking forward to spending more time with his family, having a few lie-ins and perhaps the occasional breakfast cooked for him. We wish Bibo a very happy retirement and thank him for his dedication to his work and the club.

Another notable milestone is Tim Wilks, assistant secretary club services, who in December clocked up 30 years’ service. Having started here when Mr M Steele- Bodger was chairman, Tim passes 30 years with Mr D Steele-Bodger as chairman.

ORDER THESE WINES FROM OUR WINE MERCHANT FOR HOME DELIVERY

Looking ahead we aim to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force with a costume ball in June and, to be announced, a talk and dinner in September. Any members with RAF memorabilia we could use that they could let me borrow please be in touch.

In the background we have been working on preparing the club to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations coming into force from May 2018. As with all businesses, we are required to have understood how we manage personal data and to update policy relevant to members and staff. In addition, an update to the club’s website is underway, with members of the main committee having helped with the brief.

At the very beginning of the year the staff party took place, with thanks to the staff panel who made the arrangements and to those committee members who kindly gave up their time to serve behind the bar and to add to the occasion. Members in the West End in January would have also been aware of the Lumiere light festival and the impressive installation in St James’s Square.

Not chargeable to account. Card with handling fee, cash or cheque.

ORDER THESE WINES FROM THE ACCOUNTS OFFICE FOR PAYMENT AND COLLECTION FROM THE CLUB

A WORD FROM THE SECRETARYby Alex Bray

SECR

ETAR

Y

East India Club Wine Order Form

Wine per case of 12 bottlesClub Champagne / £155 for 6Club white / £144Club white Burgundy / £174Club red (de Ciffre) / £144Club claret / £139

Davy’s Wine Merchants, 161-165 Greenwich High Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 8JA Tel: 020 8858 6011 Fax: 020 8853 3331Email: [email protected] Website: www.davywine.co.uk/eic

Please order on-line or by phone.

All prices include VAT

Wines and spirits per case of 12 bottlesClub claret £127Club white £132Club red (de Ciffre) £132Club white Burgundy £162Club Champagne (per case of 6) £149Club Cognac VSOP per 70cl bottle £43.50

Winegift boxThree EastIndia Clubwines in apresentationbox –club claret,club whiteandclub whiteBurgundy.£43


O ver the last 30 years, much has changed in London’s clubs: not just what they offer, but the

expectation of what they should offer. Tim observes that clubland is much busier than when he started at the East India Club in 1987. “Standards of dining have improved across all the clubs, and bedrooms are now up to hotel standard,” he says.

Clubs still have the edge over hotels, because of the relationship between staff and members in a club, which is only available in the most expensive hotels. ”It’s because of the length of service we have here,” says Tim. “The hotels have a higher turnover of staff. Because of that, some of them maintain a complicated indexing system to help them keep track of and recognise guests.”

Tim says, however, clubs are in danger of judging themselves and what they do

“”

STAFF PROFILE

With 30 years of service at the club to his name, assistant secretary Tim Wilks is well placed to discuss what has changed not just at the East India but across clubland. He says that the word which defines clubland and the relationship between staff and members is ‘respect’.

Tim Wilks

STAF

F PR

OFIL

E

members is ‘respect’. If clubland could be said to have an inner nobility, it is down to this. And Tim worries that respect can easily slip away.

Among other changes to clubland in the last 30 years are computers, internet, email and the ease of communication. “It’s instantaneous,” he says, and he is secretly grateful for the move to computers. “My handwrting is pretty terrible,” he says. “20 years ago, when we wrote out letters in longhand and typists typed them up, only Joan could read my writing. She could read it even when I couldn’t read it.”

Clubland is business, standards of dining have improved across all clubs and bedrooms are now up to hotel standard

Tim receives his long service award from the committee

Tim believes that technology helps the relationship between staff and members. “All the departments in the club have more interaction with members because they can exchange emails,” he says. ”But I do think one downside is that we use emails when a phone call would cover many more points.”

Much of Tim’s job today is communication as he manages the bedroom refurbishment. When electricians want to switch off the lights, Tim achieves agreement from the other departments when to do it. Among his bigger jobs, he managed the nine-month new kitchen build. When the club put in a new boiler house, it took five months,”not helped by Westminster Council’s planners’ views on the final colouring of the flue,” he says.

Tim married his wife Therasa in 2001 and they live at Ashurst in the New Forest.

against hotels. “If you do that, then you become like a hotel,” he says. “If you try to beat them, you join them.”

For Tim, the word that sums up the relationship between a club’s staff and its


NEW

MEM

BERS

New members The club welcomes the following:

Abingdon School EJ Adamson Esq L Hampden EsqAlleyn’s School G Hartley EsqAmpleforth College J Gordon EsqBarnard Castle School DC Custance Esq MJ Dalton Esq DN Hall EsqBedford School C Fang EsqBishop’s Stortford College W Dawkins Esq Blundell’s School WM Scott EsqBradfield College RDP Reed EsqBrentwood School CL Hall EsqBromsgrove School A Cox EsqBryanston School O Verdon EsqCharterhouse BW Jackson Esq E Puckett EsqCheltenham College L Shen EsqCity of London School B Hodgkinson-Toay Esq P Isaacs Esq W Zhou EsqClifton College A Polyakov Esq

New J7 membersThe club welcomes the following:

CRA Anderson EsqTW Ashley EsqAJ Barker EsqC Bell EsqJEH Borgstrom EsqJG Brearley EsqP Buck Esq

Culford School AE Sanderson EsqDauntsey’s School HE Kiff EsqDownside School C Day Esq MS Li Esq JR Ng Esq AH St V O’Devlin Esq PAM Poitrinal D’Hauterives Esq CYI Tse EsqDurham School A Simsek EsqEton College C Clark Esq JWM Francis Esq Felsted School A Bloomfield EsqGlenalmond College O Cannon EsqHaberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ ATJ Crabtree Esq ME Desmond Esq A Patel EsqHaileybury JOM Reed EsqHampton School D Kirrane EsqHarrow School E Bergamo Andreis Esq LP Bergamo Andreis Esq ASA Calindi Esq S Helly d’Angelin Esq Hereford Cathedral School JJL Moore Esq

Kimbolton School JMC Blane EsqKing’s College School, Wimbledon OD Kelliher Esq SN Leavitt Esq WC Leavitt Esq AJ Oldroyd EsqKing’s School, Bruton GSC Airey EsqKing’s School, Canterbury NQ Nugee Esq R Chan Esq CJMO De Vitry D’Avaucourt EsqKing’s School, Chester AP Czulowski EsqKing’s School, Worcester B Bates EsqKingston Grammar School MR Pugh EsqMalvern College HRF Catto EsqManchester Grammar School JD Pollard EsqMerchiston Castle School MS Mohsin EsqMilton Abbey G O’Kelly Esq THM Simpson Esq Monmouth School L Devonald EsqOratory School YW Thorne EsqOundle School LZJ Lai EsqPerse School FW Follows Esq M Thompson Esq

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital H Ahmed Esq BA Trotman EsqRadley College RAD Eyre Esq DM Kirchlechner Esq S Lee Esq C Rothbarth Esq HJ Ryan Esq TC Ryan Esq JJB Sheppard Esq P Suwannakarn EsqReigate Grammar School M Baker EsqRidley College, Canada JW Watson EsqSherborne, Qatar WGW Niemeyer Esq Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok V Ophaswongse EsqShrewsbury School OJW Dixon Esq JJB Robinson EsqSt Benedict’s School S Lythgoe EsqSt Columba’s College, St Albans M Mullens Esq J Butler-Caddle Esq St Edward’s School, Oxford W Blackmore EsqSt Paul’s School HA Johal Esq R Patel EsqSt Peter’s School WDC Andrews Esq

Stewart’s Melville College RJ Coyne EsqStowe School J Dolder Esq NA Smith EsqTonbridge School NT Friend Esq TB Green Esq D Leroni EsqWellington College, Berkshire L Symonds EsqWest Buckland School FL Dean EsqWestminster School CC Johal EsqWinchester College J Korossy Esq M Meshkvichev Esq SH Mossaheb Esq MA Sribhibhadh Esq P Uahwantanasakul Esq MA Vitai Esq

DeceasedIt is with regret we announce the deaths of the following members: ML Brewer Esq CC Garwood Esq Comm AR Godfrey DL Hanson Esq JR Hinchliffe Esq RGH Hinton Esq AW Naisbitt Esq ABC Philpott Esq RH Richards Esq CF Schuster Esq AC Serjeant Esq RC Speller Esq T Thomas Esq A Turner EsqMM Smith Esq

SR Built EsqD Campbell EsqW Carlisle EsqDF Cordeaux EsqHB Cross EsqA Derbie EsqR Donaghy Esq

J Edgar EsqA Feicht EsqPM Gale EsqAP Goucher EsqTCJ Hardman EsqKC Holdt EsqG Langton EsqWC Lingfield EsqA Lloyd EsqTAS Long EsqCP Lusted Esq

Dr JC MacartneyDP McInerney EsqA Noel EsqJ Phillipou EsqS Pitt EsqP Pratelli EsqEA Proffitt EsqCD Rawstron EsqKA Sandford EsqGJ Sargent-Childs Esq M Schlomski EsqTG Sibbald Esq

Dr A SinhaJM Smith EsqRE Tamraz EsqCM Thorne EsqG Thorpe EsqDr PA TullyJO Turnbull EsqRF Underwood Esq M Van Horen EsqJ West-Sherring EsqJCR Woods

T hree Lawrence brothers, General Sir George St Patrick Lawrence (1804-1884), Brigadier Sir Henry

Montgomery Lawrence (1806-1857) and Lord John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence (1811-1879), hailed from Derry and were educated in Foyle College. They, in turn, went on to the East India Company Military Seminary in Addiscombe, Surrey. All served with military and administrative distinction in the Punjab.

Their father Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander William Lawrence (1764-1835), from Coleraine, also fought in India and achieved distinction at the forlorn hope during the Siege of Seringapatnam.

Sir Henry, the fifth of twelve children, was born in Ceylon in 1806,

Sir Henry Lawrence: 160 years onfive years before his younger brother Lord John Lawrence. This gentle compassionate brother was the ‘educator’ and the one who had four schools built in India for the children of fallen British soldiers based there. Achieving the rank of Brigadier-General, Sir Henry became a British soldier and statesman in India. He married his cousin Honoria Marshall and they had four children.

Unlike his brother Lord John Lawrence, Sir Henry was often unpopular with authorities due to his insistence that government should pay attention to the welfare of the Indian people.

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Sir Henry earned praise for the prompt and decisive handling of an insurrection of an irregular native regiment near Lucknow. However, he was wounded by an exploding

shell on 2 July and died two days later. Perhaps his most important and lasting legacy will be the military asylums he set up initially for the children and orphans of British soldiers which bear his name to this day.

This is an edited version of an article Dr Kanchan McAllister wrote for the Foyle school magazine.

by Dr Kanchan McAllister

The club’s portrait of Sir Henry Lawrence


OBIT

UARI

ES

MARTIN BREWER

MIKE SMITH

A former deputy chairman, doyen of EPICS and livewire of the American bar, Martin Brewer has died aged 88.

Born in Maidenhead in 1929 he was originally a member of the Public Schools Club, having attended Bradfield from 1943 to 1947. Then came national service in the Royal Air Force, after which he went on to join the RAFVR, where he took up flying.

A seaplane rating led to flying at Lee-on-Solent and in the Bahamas. It also led to Martin’s part-ownership of a slightly odd seaplane. He and a number of others formed a syndicate known as the Seaplane Club, which was part of the Tiger Club founded by Norman Jones.

The syndicate got hold of a Tiger Moth and an Aronca, took the floats off the latter and fixed them on the former. They flew this hybrid at weekends from the naval air station at Lee-on-Solent until eventually corrosion set in and the poor beast just disintegrated, fortunately while it was on the ground.

For ten years back in the 1950s, Martin was also active in the Vintage Sports Car Club. During this time he owned and raced a series of cars that turn grown men into boys, gazing in open-mouthed wonder. He raced an Amilcar, a grand prix Bugatti, an ERA and a 4.5-litre Bentley which he inherited from his godfather. The Bentley was also used in

I t is with much sadness that I must report to you the sudden and unexpected death of my great friend and sailing

companion, Michael ‘Mike’ Smith, the vice commodore of the East India yacht squadron.

He suffered a heart attack and passed away while on a business trip to Kenya in December 2017.

Mike was one of the founding members of the squadron. His first claim to squadron fame was to earn the title ‘chief engineer’ on a weekend sail in the Solent on commodore Jim Miller’s boat Eagle. The crew encountered problems with the starboard winch so, while moored up at Bucklers Hard, Mike, shadowed by the ‘padre’ Lachlan Mulholland, dismantled the winch, cleaned and greased it, repaired its pawl springs and then reassembled it. It has never given trouble since.

Mike was a remarkable individual. He grew up in Cape Town and, in the 1970s, was called up by the South African Government

Martin Brewer

Mike Smith

Mike helms to victory in the Newman VC Trophy

the 1959 London to Paris air race, when it was driven in the London to Biggin Hill leg. The next leg was flown in a Percival Proctor and the team completed the trip to the Arc de Triomphe in two-and-a-half hours. They also picked up the prize for the fastest time for any entrant using entirely their own equipment.

His flying included some hairier moments, such as the occasion when the undercarriage jammed as he was flying a

to undergo his national service. He chose the navy and became a lieutenant, serving out of Simonstown, from where he enjoyed dinghy sailing in False Bay. Mike went on to sail as crew on no fewer than four transatlantic races between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro. I remember his story of how he found himself with barely a toe-hold footing having to ‘trip’ the spinnaker in a heavy squall in the early hours in total darkness somewhere in the

Miles Gemini at White Waltham. “I managed to free one leg but not the other. I was able to save the wing and the engine and although there was a lot of dust, there wasn’t any blood. However, the idiot passenger I was carrying was sick all over me, which I could have done without.”

On another occasion icing problems in Ireland resulted in a crash landing on Limerick Junction racecourse in a Piper Comanche. The end result was that the plane was so badly damaged he and the loss adjuster finished up taking it to pieces and bringing it back to England in a borrowed horse box.

He was also a member of the Royal Aero Club, whose members included John Blake who, among his talents, had the knack of drawing caricatures and penning poems about people. Martin was among his victims, with the following contribution:

Martin Brewer I’ll never malign, He flies if the weather is fine, But driving old carsAnd propping up bars, Is very much more in his line. His other sporting activities included

cricket, tennis, golf, fishing, racing, game and target shooting and soccer, which he played for his old school up to 1959.

He suffered a fall which put him in a coma and he passed away peacefully five days later.

South Atlantic, which he described as just part of racing, in the same modest manner as one might describe the cheese trolley at dinner in the club. Mike, however, was a stickler for roast beef and he would snort, clear his throat and have a quiet word with James or, later, Peter if he found out that beef was not on the trolley on any Thursday.

Mike’s racing talent has passed into squadron legend. He proved himself the best helm in the squadron. His untimely death is a great loss to the squadron and of course to his wife Carol, his daughter Julia and his son Matthew, himself a member of the squadron, to whom our deepest sympathies go.

by Paul Rose, Rear Commodore Racing

Reciprocal clubs

The East India welcomes members ofother clubs from all over the world,who may use the club’s facilities as ifthey were their own. A reciprocal arrangement has been made formembers to visit these clubs when acard of introduction, obtainable from the club secretary, is required. Theseclubs have all been chosen for theirsuitability for our members but havedifferent facilities.

If you are going to visit any of them,we suggest you telephone first andfind out about them. Let us have yourviews on your visits and tell us if youhave found other clubs with whom weshould enter into reciprocal arrangements or if one of these, inyour opinion, is no longer suitable.

] Accommodation not available

]] Sports facilities not available

Members are reminded that the production of a current membership card and photo ID is essential when visiting the Hurlingham Club. Our reciprocal clubs usually require an introductory card which may be obtained from the secretary’s office.

AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Town Cape Town Club

Durban Durban Club

Johannesburg Country Club of Johannesburg

Rand Club

Pietermaritzburg Victoria Country Club

Polokwane Pietersburg Club

Port Elizabeth Port Elizabeth St George’s Club

KENYA

Nairobi Muthaiga Country Club

ZIMBABWE

Bulawayo Bulawayo Club

Harare ] Country Club Harare Club

AUSTRALIA

Adelaide Adelaide Club Naval, Military and Air Force Club of Adelaide Public Schools’ Club

Brisbane Queensland Club Tattersall’s Club

Canberra Commonwealth Club

Hobart Tasmanian Club

Launceston Launceston Club

Melbourne Athenaeum Club Australian Club Melbourne Club Royal Automobile Club Newcastle Newcastle Club

Perth ] Western Australian Club Weld Club

Sydney Australian Club

Union, University & Schools’ Club

BERMUDA

Tucker’s Town Mid-Ocean Club

CANADA

Montreal ] James’s Club University Club Saint John, NB ] Union Club

Toronto National Club University Club of Toronto

Albany Club

Vancouver Terminal City Club Vancouver Club

Victoria, BC Union Club of British Columbia

EUROPE

Barcelona Círculo Ecuestre

Bilbao Sociedad Bilbaina

Brussels ] Cercle Royal Gaulois

Dublin Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club

Frankfurt Union International Club

Gothenburg ] Royal Bachelors’ Club

The Hague ] Nieuwe of Literaire Societeit de Witte

Hamburg ] Anglo-German Club

Luxembourg ] Cercle Munster

Madrid ] Financiero Génova ] Real Sociedad Española Club de Campo

Oporto Oporto Cricket & Lawn Tennis Club

Paris ] Cercle de l’Union Interalliée

Travellers Club

Stockholm ] Sällskapet

HONG KONG

Hong Kong ] Hong Kong Club ] Hong Kong Cricket Club

INDIA

Calcutta Tollygunge Club

Mumbai Royal Bombay Yacht Club Golden Swan

JAPAN

Tokyo Tokyo American Club

MIDDLE EAST

Bahrain ] British Club

Dubai Capital Club

NEW ZEALAND

Auckland Northern Club

Christchurch Canterbury Club

Christchurch Club

Dunedin Dunedin Club

Napier Hawke’s Bay Club

Wellington Wellington Club

PAKISTANKarachi Sind ClubIslamabad Islamabad Club

SRI LANKAColombo Colombo ClubNuwara Eliya Hill Club

SINGAPORESingapore Tanglin Club

SOUTH KOREASeoul ] Seoul Club

UKBelfast ] Ulster Reform ClubEdinburgh New Club Royal Scots ClubGlasgow Western ClubGuernsey ] United ClubHenley on Thames Phyllis Court ClubIsle of Wight Royal London Yacht Club, CowesLiverpool ] Athenaeum ClubLondon ] City of London Club ] ]] Hurlingham Club (membership card and photo ID is essential )Newcastle Northern Counties Club upon TynePerth Royal Perth Golfing Society & County and City Club

USAAlbany, NY Fort Orange ClubBerkeley, CA Berkeley City ClubBoston, MA Algonquin Club Harvard Club Union ClubBethesda, MD Kenwood Golf & Country ClubCincinnati, OH Queen City ClubChicago, IL Standard Club Union League Club University Club of ChicagoDetroit, IL Athletic ClubLos Angeles, CA Riviera Country ClubMountain Lake, FL Mountain LakeOsterville, MA Wianno Club (open May-Nov)Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis ClubNew York, NY Princeton Club Lotos Club Metropolitan Club Union League ClubNorfolk, VA Norfolk Yacht & Country ClubPhiladelphia, PA Union League ClubPhoenix, AZ ] University ClubSan Francisco, CA Marines’ Memorial Association University ClubSt Louis, MO ] Racquet ClubSeattle, WA Rainier ClubFort Worth, TX Fort Worth ClubWashington DC Army & Navy Club Cosmos Club University Club

Documents

FLANKER FIGHTER FORM GUIDE FLATTED FIFTH FLUTTER · EAST & WEST – SPRING 2018 3 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT April 2018 18 Young members’ dinner 25 Wellington Barracks visit 26 St George’s