Alistair has been a member of The Oriental Club in London for over 25 years.
For nearly two hundred years, the Oriental Club has been an iconic Central London focal point for those who have lived, worked or travelled in the East. Today, a diverse membership values the modern amenities of Stratford House
and the attentive service offered by the Club’s Staff.
The Oriental Club treasures its rich history and the extraordinary characters who have been associated with it, since the Duke of Wellington became the Club’s first and only President in 1824.
In literature, it has been a reference point throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century,
with novelists such as William Thackeray and Lytton Strachey referencing the Club, and countless others drawing from its stable of colourful characters.
The Oriental Club was founded by returning officers and officials from India and the East for whom the Club was a valued haven in London. It must have seemed at once comfortingly familiar and yet so different to the climate and culture that had become their everyday in the East.
Major General Sir John Malcolm coordinated the founding Committee in 1824 and advertised a Club that would draw its Members from ‘Noblemen and gentlemen associated with the administration of our Eastern empire, or who have travelled or resided in Asia, at St. Helena, in Egypt, at the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, or at Constantinople.’
The Club moved to Stratford House in 1962 and today continues its tradition of providing a welcoming, comfortable home-from-home for its Members in Central London. Find out more about Stratford House here.