The Civil Service Club is a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

social club, founded in 1953, for current and former members of the UK Civil Service and

His Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

. In advance of the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of the Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN, Duke of Edinburgh, which took place on 20 November 1947 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, the Home Civil Service and

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

undertook a collection for the purpose of purchasing a suitable present to celebrate the royal nuptials. Two

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

salver A salver is a flat heavy tray of silver, other metal or glass used for carrying or serving glasses, cups, and dishes at a table, or for the presenting of a letter or card by a servant. In a royal or noble household the fear of poisoning led ...

s were purchased, after which the balance of the Wedding Fund collected by the Home Civil Service and the

was £14,037. The Princess Elizabeth was touched by the kindness of the gesture and made her wish known that the balance should be handed over with the express intention that it be utilised to establish a social facility for civil servants: ‘on condition that membership should be available to all grades and classes at a subscription within reach of all.’ A suitable premises was found at 13-15

Great Scotland Yard Great Scotland Yard is a street in the St. James's district of Westminster, London, connecting Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall. By the 16th century, this 'yard', which was then an open space for the Palace of Whitehall, was fronted by buil ...

and the Civil Service Club in

was brought into being as a social centre for all civil servants, both serving and

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

, and opened its doors on the morning of 2 February

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

where it continues to operate to this day. Her Majesty The Queen is the patron of The Civil Service Club Originally the building was a

horse-drawn A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

Fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ...

. It has large windows at the front of the property which were originally the doors. In keeping with tradition, the building next door, on the way to

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

, is the Metropolitan Police

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

stables. The club provides a bar with pub-style food, a dining room with

silver service Silver service (in British English) is a method of foodservice at the table, with waiter transferring food from a serving dish to the guest's plate, always from the left. It is performed by a waiter by using service forks and spoons from the din ...

, several meeting rooms and accommodation for members. It a membership club for serving and former civil servants. There is a nickname "sanctuary", which refers to it being a safe place. A member can sit in peace without fear that any Member of Parliament can even enter the building .

References

Bibliography

* Quinlan, Mark (2020). . London: Civil Service Club * Seymour, Norman (1992). London: Ministry of Defence.

External links

Civil Service Club home page
{{coord, 51.50657, -0.12565, type:landmark_region:GB, format=dms, display=title 1953 establishments in England Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster