NEWS

Cavalry & Guards: A London Home Launched

16th June 2009

Cavalry & Guards – A London Home, celebrates two important milestones: the centenary in 2009 of the reconstruction of 127 Piccadilly, the home of the Cavalry Club, and the double centenary in 2010 of the foundation in 1810 of the original Guards Club.

This richly entertaining and beautifully illustrated portrait of the Club’s past and present features rare archive images and specially commissioned contemporary photography. Along with Club history, architecture and treasures, the book includes images of the vibrant life of the Club throughout the year, ranging from celebration and commemorative balls and feasts to participation in and attendance at major sporting events, such as Royal Ascot and various Hurlingham Polo Association tournaments. The story is enhanced by memories, anecdotes and memorabilia of life at the Club, and by pen portraits of some of its highly distinguished members.

It was in 1815 that the Guards Club established its first home at 49 St James Street, London, opposite the long-established White’s Club. One of the more amusing chroniclers of the time, Captain Gronow, Etonian, Grenadier, MP and member of the Guards Club wrote: “Bordeaux gave particular pleasure to the Guards who found the delicate and refined bouquets of their wine much to their liking after the rough Spanish stuff, quite apart from the tables and the daughters of the merchants which and whom they loved equally.” He also went on to say the Club was ….”composed of the best men that England could boast of ….”

Over the years, Club disciplinary matters have been taken somewhat seriously. Albeit on the odd occasion members have been given the benefit of the doubt. In the 1920s the Secretary at the time wrote to one member, “It has been brought to my notice that you were intoxicated in the ladies room on Wednesday night.” His apologetic reply – “I regret to say it seems futile to attempt to excuse my conduct but would like to state that I had a horse put me on my head the previous morning and that this, following as it did on a rather severe concussion I received not long before when riding in a steeplechase at Birmingham, had probably upset my mental equilibrium.” – was accepted and his membership reinstated.

The members’ suggestions book has contained a number of interesting entries and in more recent times comments have included: “Could the game be hung (properly) before appearing in the Coffee Room.” (February 1964). “No more girls’ school parties at lunch time, please.” (March 1992) and “ Denims and baby bouncers are the giddy limit. Are we in competition with the Hard Rock Café ?” (September 1993).

In his preface, HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, President of The Cavalry and Guards Club said: “For over two hundred years London Clubs have provided for their members a refuge from the world outside their doors and a meeting place for men of like-minds. It is perhaps a novelty to the 21st century observer that such places not only exist but continue to go from strength to strength, supported by new generations of Club men – and now, indeed, Club ladies.”

Third Millennium Chairman, Julian Platt, commented: “I am delighted that we had the opportunity to publish such a distinguished book for this highly prestigious Club. Cavalry & Guards – A London Home fits very neatly with our increasing portfolio of military books, which also include titles for the Household Division, the Royal Green Jackets, the Royal Artillery, the Brigade of Gurkhas and Sandhurst.”

Copies of Cavalry & Guards – A London Home can be ordered online direct from from Third Millennium Publishing – click HERE for details - or can be ordered through local booksellers.

Third Millennium has published books for a number of leading heritage, educational and military institutions. These include titles for Westminster Abbey, York Minster, Durham Cathedral and Lincoln’s Inn; the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Manchester, Newcastle and SOAS; Harrow, Rugby School and Wellington College; the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Royal Artillery, the Household Division, the Royal Green Jackets, the Army Museum Ogilvy Trust and the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

Title: Cavalry & Guards – A London Home

Imprint: Third Millennium Publishing, London

Editors: Charles Webb (Editor of 127 Gazette, the Cavalry & Guards Club) and Val Horsler (former Head of Publishing, English Heritage)

Publication: June 2009

RRP: £39.50 / ISBN: 978-1-906507-02-2

Specification: Hardback, 192 pages, 305 x 254 mm, portrait, over 200 illustrations and 75,000 words

For further information contact Michael D Jackson, Marketing Manager, Third Millennium Information Ltd, 2-5 Benjamin St, EC1M 5QL. Tel: +44 (0)207 336 0144. Email: mj@tmiltd.com. Website: www.tmiltd.com