Patron
HRH The Prince of Wales

Registered Charity
No. 248962

Introduction

The Royal Navy Club’s primary purpose is to support those in need who are the widows, widowers, siblings, orphan children and dependants of former members of the Club. A registered charity, it relies on its Surplus Fund to provide this support. To that end the Club strongly encourages donations through legacies in wills, regular donations by Standing Order or even occasional one off donations. For further advice click here.

The Club also provides opportunities for serving and retired members to dine together in order to renew friendships and to network.

Membership is restricted to officers of the Royal Navy of the rank of Commander and above who are, or were, eligible to command one of HM ships-of-war at sea and Lieutenant Commanders selected for promotion to Commander, who are or have been eligible to command HM Ships of war at sea as well as those Lieutenant Commanders appointed in command of one of HM’s ships of war at sea. The Club currently consists of some 890 Flag Officers, Commodores, Captains and Commanders. Every officer applying for membership must be proposed by two members for election by the Committee. Dinners, for those who wish to attend, take place four times a year in London or Portsmouth. These include one in February to celebrate Founders’ Day at which members of the Admiralty Board are dined as guests and a dinner to celebrate the Sovereign’s birthday. Other dinners commemorate naval achievements including, every year, Trafalgar. At these dinners the hallmark is the absence of any discrimination based on rank. Members of whatever seniority are “Brother Officers”.

The Club traces its origins to a meeting of eight Captains on 4 February 1765 at which “it was resolved to set on foot a society of brother officers at the St Alban’s tavern on this day sevenight”. The meeting duly took place at which these eight Founders of the Club were joined by a further fifteen Captains and the title The Navy Society adopted.

In 1785 a second club was founded, The Navy Club of 1785, and in due course a high proportion of the members of both clubs were members of the other one. It became obvious to both clubs that union would be in their best interests, and this was achieved in 1889. The title of the united clubs was agreed upon as The Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889). Throughout the history of both clubs many of the most famous Admirals were members. Nelson was elected in 1784 and other well known names include Collingwood, Howe, Kempenfelt and St Vincent.

The Club marked its 200th anniversary in 1965 by a dinner attended by HM The Queen. It will mark its 250th anniversary in 2015.

 The Royal Navy Club
 RNAS Yeovilton
 Somerset
 BA22 8HT

 The Secretary - Captain John Hall CBE RN

  Phone: 01935 841963

  Fax: 01935 841963

  E-mail:  secretary@royalnavyclub.org

Membership Application Form

Applications for membership are welcome from those officers of the Royal Navy of the rank of Commander and above, and Lieutenant Commanders selected for promotion to Commander, who are or have been eligible to command HM Ships of war at sea as well as those Lieutenant Commanders appointed in command of one of HM’s ships of war at sea. Applicants requiring assistance with sponsorship should consult the Secretary.

Downloadable form:- Application Form

[Adobe Acrobat Software required. Click here to get your FREE download.]

Donations

The Club relies on subscription income and any General Fund surplus to supplement the income arising from the investment portfolio to assist those in need. The Club welcomes any additional donations made as regular (e.g. monthly) payments, one off donations, as well as gifts arising from legacy clauses included in members' wills.

One off or regular donations are very welcome and can be made at any time. Regular payments can be set up by Standing Order, through your bank, and paid direct to the Royal Navy Club. As little as £5 per month can make a difference. A form is available (click here) for your convenience, which you should complete and send to your bank. Alternatively, you can simply use the details to set up payments through your on-line banking arrangements. Please annotate the payments with your name and initials and also advise the Secretary to ensure the payments are credited in your name.

Direct Debit payments can also be accepted and these can be established by attaching a Direct Debit mandate to your donation form.

If you are a UK tax payer then Gift Aid enables the Club to benefit from an additional 25% on all payments, reclaimed courtesy of HMRC. Higher rate tax payers can also reclaim the difference between the basic rate of tax (20%) and their highest rate of tax (e.g. 40%, 45% or 50%). Such payments must be accompanied by a Gift Aid declaration and again, for your convenience, a form is available for download. Click here

Legacies - The Club would always recommend using a Solicitor when drawing up or amending a will, however we have prepared some suggested legacy clauses that you may consider when discussing the contents with your legal advisors. Click here