A Short History of The New Cavendish Club

The Voluntary Aid Detachment was founded in 1909 to supplement the Territorial Army's medical services. In 1915 they were put to the test when the War Office decided that VAD nurses should be contracted to military hospitals. As well as nursing, VAD members provided welfare services to the sick and wounded, and often served on the front lines. Over 70,000 VADs were at work when armistice was declared. They travelled the world, and were to continue their invaluable work into the second World War and after.

At the end of World War I Lady Ampthill, who had been Chairman of the Joint Women's VAD Department of the Order of St John and the British Red Cross Society, felt there should be "a first class Ladies' Club" in London for all VADs part and present. Charges must be moderate because many potential members were on restricted incomes.

An appeal for funds was launched and many who were grateful for the outstanding service of VADs during the war contributed large sums. The project received wide press coverage, and a notice was also sent to all Red Cross and St John County headquarters offering £2 shares in the company. This resulted in about 1,400 shareholders with 1 share each!

The Club's first home was at Queen Anne House, number 28 Cavendish Square - Marshall Thomson's Hotel, mentioned in Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair'. The sum of £25,000 secure a 999 year lease, furniture and fittings, along with Herbert, the hotel's pantry boy who later became the Club's Head Porter.

'The Spectator' reported "The work of decorating and fitting the Club has been carried on extremely quickly, partly owing to the fact that many of the workmen engaged on it have during the war been in military and auxiliary hospitals where the VADs were serving. They therefore feel and express a real personal interest in the progress of the work and in the building being ready in time."

Finally, on June 14, 19020 Lady Ampthill, Chairman of the Board of Directors, declared the Club open and gave a lunch party for over 100 guests to celebrate. The Club had the double honour of having Queen Mary as its patron and Princess Mary (later the Princess Royal), commandant of a VA Detachment, as an honorary member.

Response to the Club from VADs was enthusiastic and well before it opened 2,500 membership applications had flooded in. The Country subscription was one guinea (£1.05), and Town was double. A single room cost six shillings and sixpence a night (32p). Luncheon was from one shilling and threepence (7p) and the six course Club dinner four shillings and sixpence (26p).

The dining room was staffed by ex VADs who wanted to be in London but whose parents wished them to be in a respectable establishment under supervision. They wore VAD uniform with caps and aprons, slept three to a bedroom in a neighbouring house, and had one weekend off a month. They were paid two pounds and ten shillings a month.

Alfred was the head porter, Albert the luggage porter and Herbert the pantry boy before becoming night porter. There was also a page boy.

The Club went from strength to strength until the outbreak of World War II when all the men left to join the forces, and a small female staff remained. The Club, like so many London buildings, was damaged by a fire bomb. One memorable night members had to leave their warm beds and seek shelter in a nearby hotel. The Club then remained closed for six weeks.

Mrs How, the Company and Club secretary, coped gallantly throughout the war and finally retired aged 80 at the end of 1945. Her secretary, Miss Camp, was renowned for having the most prodigious memory. She could recall any members who had not paid their subscriptions, and if they dared appear in the Club they would be tracked down - even in the cloakroom. They always paid up!

Miss Muriel Sample came to the Club as Secretary in 1946. An ex VAD, she had served during the war in North Africa and Italy. She recalls, "Immediately after the war the difficulties of running a Club were immense. Staff shortages were appalling and food was rationed and very hard to get. We seemed to live on endless pigeons.

"Hilda, the cook, and I did not get on very well. She had a violent temper and was once found chasing John, her assistant, up the kitchen stairs with a carving knife. When Hilda left she was replaced by an ex army chef who was a great success, remaining with us for 20 years."

Miss Sample decided that life in the Club during these lean years would be more cheerful if there were a bar. So she covered trestle table with a white cloth and a few precious bottles, and set up for business in the former air raid shelter. "I then went round all the members who were in the Club that day telling them of the great event. The very first person I told was an elderly member who was not at all amused - it turned out she was a teetotaller."

The Club had many distinguished members. The Princess Royal as an honorary member used to lunch regularly at the Club, particularly during the war years when her staff at St James's Palace was "of skeleton dimensions". She said the food was a great improvement on what she was served at home. She used to bring her sons with her when they were young and had to be taken to the dentist or doctor on Harley Street.

The Princess insisted on being treated as an ordinary member with no fuss - unlike an almost unknown Spanish Princess, brought to the Club by Lady Ampthill. Everyone in the Dining Room was told to stand when she entered or left the room.

Interesting members have included Lady Tweedsmuir, Dame Anna Neagle, and Dame Isobel Baillie. Some members have been less illustrious. One was jailed during the war for being a friend of Hitler's and another stole a fur coat from the cloakroom. The theft was only discovered because Herbert noticed she left the Club wearing one fur coat and carrying another. The culprit was apprehended in Wigmore Hall.

Lady Ampthill remained Chairman until 1957, when illness forced here to resign. Muriel Sample recalls, "She had been the inspiration of the Club and its guiding light throughout its life and we were all terribly sad when she decided it was time for her to go." Her place was taken by Viscountess Broome.

In 1957 many building changes were going on in Cavendish Square, John Lewis was extending its premises and an underground car park was being built under the Square gardens. The Club's corner site had over the years attracted the attention of numerous businesses wishing to buy its lease. All overtures had been turned down, but in 1957 an offer came which was too good to refuse. A shareholders' meeting was called, and a vote taken to accept the offer.

Finding new centrally located premises was less easy. Finally, after weeks of searching, three elegant early 19th century houses in Great Cumberland Place were found (the corner house being acquired soon after). They had suffered badly in the war and had to be practically rebuilt, so although the Club premises were vacated in September 1958 the new ones were not ready until May the following year. Hospitality was arranged for members at other clubs and many of the staff took temporary jobs.

The office staff remained, camped out in two rooms in the new house. Miss Sample remembers those days vividly, "We had to pick our way very carefully through all sorts of building hazards to reach our temporary office, and we had to go down the road to the Cumberland Hotel to the lavatory! I slept alone in the house in a room with a large tarpaulin which flapped rather eerily in the night and was very draughty."

A new kitchen had to be built and equipped, and the dining room (now the Jubilee Room) was formed from a roofless open space which had been the basement area of three of the houses. One room on the corner house had a particularly fine ceiling, and a skilled plasterer spent many days restoring the intricate design. Miss Sample recalls, "Alas. During the first week of the opening we were coming up from dinner one evening when there was a terrific thud and clouds of white dust. We found the whole ceiling had collapsed..."

The Princess Royal was invited to perform the opening ceremony for the new Club which took place in December 1959. After touring the building she told members "I do not think there is a ladies' club in London at the present time which is able to offer a more attractive club house and more agreeable amenities to its members."

Since then the Club has seen many changes and further improvements. Membership was extended to ex members of the Cowdray Club and the Guide Club and later to women of the Magistrates Association and WVS. Then "gentlemen members as well as business ladies" were admitted. In recognition of the widened membership, the Club's name was altered to the New Cavendish.

A major face lift was carried out too. Bedrooms were modernised, and most now have telephones and en suite bathrooms. The trestle table went long ago, and the bar and coffee lounge are now a comfortable meeting place for members and guests, and the elegant dining room is open for lunch and dinner.

There is a roof garden and a library, and private rooms are available for hire. Membership stands at nearly 2,000. Many businessmen and women have joined. They come in for lunch or to change after the office and relax in the bar before going out in the evening. They also take advantage of the reasonably priced overnight accommodation.

The face of Lady Ampthill's club has certainly changed, but the New Cavendish still remains a safe and comfortable haven in the heart of London. And happily there are still many ex VAD members to keep the original spirit of the VAD Ladies' Club alive.