Foundation and Membership
The club was founded by Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Barnes (1776–1838) in 1837. His proposal was to establish an Army Club, with all officers of Her Majesty's Army on full or half pay eligible for membership. However, when The Duke of Wellington was asked to be a patron, he refused unless membership were also offered to officers of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, and this was agreed. On 28 August 1837 a meeting representing the various services took place, to elect a Committee and to settle the new club's Rules.
Sir Edward Barnes died on 19 March 1838, just two weeks before the first general meeting of the club.
By 1851, the club was in a strong position, with sixteen hundred members and a waiting list of 834. This pressure led to the founding of the separate Naval & Military Club in 1862.
Charles Dickens, Jr., reported in Dickens's Dictionary of London (1879). -
| “ | Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall. — Is instituted for the association of commissioned officers of all ranks in Her Majesty’s Regular Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines. Election by ballot in club meeting. Thirty members must actually vote, and one black ball in ten excludes. Entrance fee, £40; subscription, £7 7S. for old members; but the following resolution was carried at the annual meeting of the club on the 3rd June, 1878: "All new members who are elected to the club, commencing with the next ballot, shall pay an annual subscription at £10 10s." | ” |
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica article Club, in 1902 -
| “ | The largest income... may be stated to be that of the Army and Navy club, which in the year 1875 amounted to £30,813, of which £19,383 was raised by entrance fees and subscriptions alone. The expenditure is, however, most commonly of nearly equal amount, and of few of the clubs can it be said that they are entirely free from debt. The number of members included in a London club varies from 2200 in the Army and Navy to 475 in the St James's club. | ” |
Membership of the Army and Navy Club is now offered also to members of Commonwealth armed services, to members' immediate families and to individuals who have no service background who are nominated and seconded by existing members. The club has some five thousand members, including women. Men and women members now have entirely equal standing.
As of 2011, the membership subscription costs between £223 and £465 per year, with a £130 rate for younger members (under 29); there are reduced rates for spouses and a rate for family membership. There is no joining fee .
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