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.
