United Service Club

Former clubhouse at 116 Pall Mall, now used by the Institute of Directors

The United Service Club was a London gentlemen's club founded in 1815 for the use of senior officers in the British Army and Royal Navy – those above the rank of Major or Commander – and the club was accordingly known to its members as "The Senior". The club closed in 1978.

Because of its emphasis on senior officers, it was considered the most prestigious of London's military clubs – reflected partly in its entry fees, which were the highest of any London club in the 1880s, although there has been some speculation this was a device to limit the number of new members.[1]

  1. ^ Antonia Taddei, London clubs in the late nineteenth century (Oxford University discussion paper, 1999), p.16