Brief History continued

In 1922 the Club entertained Field Marshal French of World War I fame on Empire Day. It is reported that a Golf Challenge Cup was presented by the Club president, C.S. le Poer Trench. Again, the Cup has been mislaid for many years.

The demise of the old S.I. Cricket & Tennis Club is reported in 1923, when a tribute was paid to its Secretary, Randolph St. George Walker. Walker Park is named in honor of his generous gift to the City of New York. And in 1923 arrangements were made for the use by BS & UC members of the facilities of the Public Schools Club in London at 61 Curzon Street.

The years of 1924/25/26 do not appear to have been kind to the Club. Membership is reported of 371 in 1924 and 315-members in 1925, in which year the facilities at the Waldorf-Astoria were surrendered. Smaller quarters of a reading room and an office were subsequently rented at the Hotel Shelton. In 1925 a most successful dinner and dance was held in May on R.M.S. Ohio of the Royal Mail Lines, due to the courtesy of Mr. Lloyd B. Sanderson - V.P. of the BS & UC.

In 1927, membership had fallen to 200-members. The death is reported of The Hon. Stuart-Wortley, a founder of the Club. In 1928 a replica of the Club's emblem was presented to the Cathedral of St. John. The Hon. Secretary in 1927/28, Charles G. Ramsey, provided rather briefer reports than had his predecessors.'

There is now a long gap in the Club's records. We have no Year Books in our archives until a Year Book covering 1929-1940 and then until Quarterly Reports started in 1948.

The Quarterly Reports were edited by John Lane with President being Francis T. Sanford, 1st V.P.s G. Piers Brookfield & George A. Lewis in 1948 with Directors of the Club including Sir Francis Evans K.C.M.G, Ralph Bell, Hugh S. Maclean, Thomas E. Ward, Edmund P. Donovan, James S. Dyson. These names will be remembered by senior members of the Club.

The Annual meeting on January 7, 1948, held at Fraunces Tavern was reported to have been 'the liveliest meeting in memory'. Membership increased to 173-members. The Guest Speaker at the Annual Dinner was The Rt. Hon. Sir Hartley Shawcross. New arrangements with the Public Schools Club were concluded by Ralph Bell. New members included N.F.H. Fleming, Arthur Grundy, The Rev. Canon Edward West, John Webber. The Annual Dinner was attended by Lord Inverchapel, the British Ambassador.

It is reported that in 1948 a service held at the Cathedral of St. John on April 25 for St. George, was attended by over 4,000-persons with a 'colorful procession of 38-Patriotic Societies'. A sermon was preached for the occasion by Canon West. And in 1954 this same Service is reported to have been attended by over 5,000-persons with the lesson read by the British C.G., Sir Frances Rundall K.C.M.G.

On June 3, 1948, the new British Ambassador, Sir Oliver Franks, presented his credentials to President Truman. Sir Oliver was to become a pillar of the Anglo-American community and a good friend of the BS & UC. One of Sir Oliver's first duties was the ceremony whereby the original Wright plane, the Kitty Hawk, was returned to the Smithsonian Institute.

Due to the efforts of G. Piers Brookfield, President, arrangements were concluded November 1, 1950, whereby BS & UC members could use the full facilities of the old Princeton Club at 39 East 39th Street, New York City. This was a marvelous step forward for the BS & UC, and without doubt aided a membership drive.

In that year, the Annual Dinner was held at the Savoy Plaza Hotel with Guest Speaker being Sir Oliver Franks. The famous British comedian, Tommy Trinder, was playing at the Latin Quarter and, between shows, entertained the dinner for 10-minutes!

A 1952 Quarterly welcomes new member Norman Basil Bentley, and seeks support for the N.Y. Rugby Football Club which had just held its first post-war meeting.

The major event in 1953 was, of course, the Coronation of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, on which date the BS & UC hosted a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria with a capacity attendance of 250-persons. Under the 3-year presidency of Hugh Maclean and a membership development Committee headed up by the late Arthur Grundy et al, membership increased to 333-members.

The Quarterly report in late 1954 is devoted to the visit to New York in October of H.M. The Queen Mother. Her Majesty performed an amazing number of events, including a luncheon given by The Mayor to which the President of the BS & UC was invited.

At the AGM in 1955, appreciation was expressed to Martin Simms for arranging for the Quarterlies to be printed in England by W.S. Cowell Ltd., and to Quentin Keith as editor. Elected to the Board were Bruce F.E. Harvey, Edmund P. Donovan. The 60th Annual Dinner was held at the Pierre Hotel, at which was present Sir Roger Makins K.C.M.G, British Ambassador to Washington.

Some great events were organized by the late John Webber, who was banquet director of a number of first-rate hotels. For example, the Empire Day reception was again held at the Pierre Hotel in May 1956. A veteran of The East African Rifles, John died on August 2, 1971.

In 1959, the club room at the Princeton Club - used for Tuesday Evening meetings - was turned into an additional dining room. Arrangements were made for Tuesday Evenings to be held at the old Chemist Club located at 52 East 41st Street. It is reported that Roland Oddy captured the Squash trophy and Angus Scott-Fleming the Darts title. We regret that both these Cups have been mislaid.

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