The Edinburgh University Club of London

-  a short history.

Go to other page links at the bottom of this page

The Club was founded on 27th June 1864, when 21 graduates of the University came together to "establish a friendly association of Graduates of the University". It was the first such club of Edinburgh Graduates, and others followed. By 1910 there was a growing network of similar clubs in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield.

The structure of the club remained the same for over a century. It was a dining club, meeting four times a year and consisting of all male graduates! It's early Presidents included Sir Joseph Lister and Arthur Balfour MP, later Prime Minister. Members in the early days included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir James Barrie.

On several occasions the club was approached to include women graduates in its activities. All approaches were firmly rejected. Consequently, in the 1920's, the women founded their own club. If anyone has any information relating to this club we would be grateful for it as the records are very patchy for this period. The men's club continued, but due to declining interest became almost defunct. It did however still collect annual subscriptions! In the 1950's and 1960's a group of women graduates met as the Womens' Club and thrived. At the beginning of the 1980's it was felt that a unisex club would be more appropriate and attractive to graduates and, as part of the celebrations of the University's Quatcentenary year, the Mens and Womens clubs merged.

This momentous occasion was marked by a reception to launch the revamped club in November 1983. The Club adopted the format of a talk and buffet supper in January, Annual Dinner in late Spring, outing in the Summer, and the AGM in October.

In the early years of the men's club a large collection of silver had been collected, valued at over £12,000. This collection has now been deposited with the University and items from the collection are displayed at the Annual Dinner. The Club recently came into possession of its oldest records, which had been missing for over forty years. These have been given to the University Library for preservation.

There are now several events annually, attempting to cater for all tastes. Prime amongst these is the Burns Supper at the end of January, with all the due pomp and ceremony required for such an august occasion. As the evening develops however the hair is let down and dancing continues into the small hours. For the Annual Dinner we seek to invite famous speakers, the most recent being:-

    1988    Lord MacKay of Clashfern , the Lord Chancellor

    1989    Lord Pitt of Hampstead

    1990    Lord Grimond

    1991    Princess Anne, the Princess Royal

    1992    Sir Donald Maitland, of the diplomatic service

    1993    Judge David Edward, alumnus of the year and judge at the European Court in Strasbourg

    1994    Sir David Smith FRS,  Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University

    1995    Lord McCluskey, Scottish Appeal Court judge

    1996    Dame Stella Rimmington, head of MI5

    1997    Professor Sir David Carter, Chief Medical Health Officer for Scotland

    1998    Malcolm Rifkind, former Foreign Secretary

    1999    Donald Dewar, Scottish Secretary

    2000    Michael Ancram, Chairman of the Conservative Party

    2001    Professor Gordon McVie, Director of the Cancer Research Campaign, and

         &    Professor Sir Stewart Sutherland, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University

    2002    Baroness Young of Old Scone

    2003    Professor Timothy O'Shea, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University

    2004    Professor Alexander McCall-Smith, author

    2005    Professor Richard Thomson, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art at the University

    2011    Professor David Leigh FRS, Forbes Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University

Occasionally we have had major receptions, including:-

    1983    500 attended a graduates reception at the Royal College of Medicine

    1984    Reception at the House of Commons, hosted by David, now Lord, Steel, a member

    1987    Ceilidh attended by 150 people

    1989    HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attends the Club's 125th Anniversary reception

    1990    HRH The Duke of Edinburgh agrees to citation as the Club's patron.

    1996    Reception at the House of Commons, sponsored by Gordon Brown MP and Robin Cook MP

    1998    Reception at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord MacKay of Clashfern, a member

We are now working with the University's Alumni department to see if we can organise an annual reception each Autumn, to which all recent graduates as well as current members will be invited. In addition we are starting to arrange some events in conjunction with the London alumni clubs of the other ancient Scottish universities, also with the Edinburgh University Club of Oxford, and hope at some stage to meet up with members from the Edinburgh University Club of France.

An earlier history, by Sir Dyce Duckworth, Bart., M.D., F.R.C.P, LL.D. ( a founder member).

The founders of the Edinburgh University Club of London were undoubtedly Dr. Markham, who graduated in 1840, and Dr. Edward Sieveking, who graduated in 1841.

On the 27th of June, 1864, a meeting was held in Dr. Sieveking's house in Manchester Square, presided over by the Principal of the University, Sir David Brewster. Twenty-one graduates attended, and letters were read from others, including Professor Christison and Professor Syme. It was resolved that an Association of the Graduates of the University should be formed in London.

The first Dinner was held on August 1st, 1864, at the Freemason's Tavern, when 64 members attended; Dr. Markham was in the Chair. Dr. Charles Murchison read to the company the Regulations agreed upon for the Club which were duly approved. The names of Dr. Harley, Dr. Perigal, and Dr. Halley should be noted for their help in these early days.

Sir David Brewster was elected the first President, and Professor Christison, Professor Syme, Dr. Roget FRS and Dr. Copland FRS were elected the first Vice-Presidents. A council of twelve was formed; Dr. Sieveking was appointed Treasurer and Dr. Murchison, Secretary. Three Trustees of Investments were nominated. Later on, a Chaplain was elected to grace our meetings. It may be noted that our founders were mostly men in high professional positions, many of them being Hospital Physicians and Clinical Teachers.

Members were soon elected from the counties, and the numbers increased yearly. There were then, as now, more members of the medical profession than of any other Faculty, but it has always been the largest in the University. Later on, it was decided to admit to the Club as members, certain men who had taken part of their University education in Edinburgh, but had graduated elsewhere in Scotland or England. St. Andrew's graduates were the first to establish a Dining Club. We followed shortly after, and Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities later on instituted their Clubs with similar interests in London.

It appears that I am now the senior member of this Club, dating from 1864. The first dinner I attended was on August 1st, 1865. Our rule then was always to dine on that date, because it was the regular day on which graduations in medicine were held. Since then, the Club has met three or four times yearly in the West End of London. Guests of members have been gladly received on these occasions.

We have never seen our way to build, or take a house for the Club, and our experience of more than half a century does not suggest any scheme for enlarging our responsibilities beyond the present ones, in any direction.

We gladly welcome graduates in any of the Faculties, and are by no means a professional Medical Club. Our interests are as wide as possible. We have no politics, nor is there any political clap-trap permitted at our meetings. Many of our members do not join in their early years, and are often grey-headed before we welcome them. They are mostly busy men. Our members now amount to 646, including 12 honorary and 32 "starred" members who have studied at the University but did not graduate. Ordinary members now number 602. The total number that have joined the Club since its foundation amounts to 1,485. Deaths and resignations account, so far, for 839.

From time to time the Club has taken part in various matters affecting the interests of the University. We are encouraging the enlargement of its new buildings by promoting large meetings in London, and the desirability of securing Parliamentary representation. We instituted the Syme Fellowship and the Murchision Scholarship. As a body, we may fairly be regarded as ever ready to encourage any schemes for improvement that may be suggested by the Senatus of the University. Looking back on the last fifty-nine years we may certainly declare that the Club has fully justified itself, and proved a strong link between the University and ourselves.

Our debt is great to many of our members who have undertaken the duties of Secretary for the Club. Their work includes numerous communications with members, and duties on the Council. They are generally busy in their profession, but never grudge time or efforts for their duties.

I can well recall the voices and peculiarities of our distinguished Chairmen, and of our best speakers and singers. The solemn bass voice of Christison, the soothing tones of Lister, the precision of Turner, the sentences of Blackie, and others of our Professors. We can never forget the clever merriment of George Ogilvie's melange of Scottish and exact French in his amusing speeches, nor the intense delivery of Dr. Glover's touching Highland songs, and Dr. Don's inspiring "Auld Lang Syne". Sir Crichton-Browne's eloquence has often stirred and refreshed us.

Many of us can recall more recent speeches from Lord Balfour, Lord Kingsbury, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Lord Finlay, and Lord Shaw of Dunfirmline. Our Parliamentary representatives have taken their parts, especially our present senior one, Sir Henry Craik, whose powerful interest in the welfare of the University is known to all our members. Nor have we forgotten the speech of a late Lord Rector, Admiral of the Fleet Beatty, two years ago.

The various Professions are well placed amongst us. If the Medical members are more numerous than the others, we belong to a widely-spread and generally wide-minded profession which holds a prominent position, daily increasing, in helping on the welfare and health of our country and empire. We can look back with satisfaction to the few original members of the Club who were wisely stirred to found it in 1864. We may be pleased to remember that we have kept closely to the aims of the Founders. It was simply designed as a Dining Club, and we venture to hope that it will long continue on these lines which have hitherto so fully and successfully worked out.

Dyce Duckworth

23rd November, 1923

Top