The House of Lords Yacht Club is a yachting association for members of the House of Lords and some others connected with it, formed in 1949.
The club was formed at a meeting at the House of Lords in 1949, when it was agreed that membership was open to peers, the eldest sons of peers, officers of the House of Lords, and the staff of the Lord Chancellor. John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara, was elected as the first commodore and Christopher Roper-Curzon, 19th Baron Teynham, as vice-commodore. [1]
In June 1949, the Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain wrote to the Admiralty on behalf of the club, asking the Lords of the Admiralty to agree to a Club flag based on the White Ensign, defaced with a portcullis, and a white burgee with a red Palace of Westminster portcullis and crown. [2] However, since 1842 the use of the White Ensign by a yacht club had only been permitted to the Royal Yacht Squadron, [3] and the Admiralty would not agree to it. An agreement was finally reached in June 1950 with the base for the club flag being the Blue Ensign, defaced with a plain gold vertical anchor surmounted by a gold royal coronet, and its burgee white with a red portcullis and coronet. [2]
In April 1950, the Secretary of the Club reported that it had 48 members, with 26 yachts. [2]
In 1952, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, received the title of "Admiral of the House of Lords Yacht Club" and was subsequently Commodore from 1961 to 1968. [4] In 2020, he continued to hold the title of Admiral of the club. [5]
Papers relating to the club's committee and annual meetings, its accounts, and its social events between 1951 and 1983 are held in the Parliamentary Archives. [6]
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Flag was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. The flag continues to have official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union Flag.
In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton, with either a red, white or blue field, dependent on whether the vessel is civilian, naval, or in a special category. These are known as the red, white, and blue ensigns respectively.
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. He was made Baron Montagu of St Neots, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. The viscountcy is used as the courtesy title by the heir apparent to the earldom. A member of the prominent Montagu family, Lord Sandwich was the son of Sir Sidney Montagu, youngest brother of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, and Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton.
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem.
A maritime flag is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. The flag flown is related to the country of registration: so much so that the word "flag" is often used symbolically as a metonym for "country of registration".
The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted to wear the White Ensign of the Royal Navy rather than the merchant Red Ensign worn by the majority of other UK registered vessels. The club's patron was Queen Elizabeth II.
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.
Lieutenant Colonel John Theodore Cuthbert Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara,, HonFRPS was an English aviation pioneer and Conservative politician. He was the first Englishman to pilot a heavier-than-air machine under power in England, and he served as Minister of Transport and Minister of Aircraft Production during the Second World War.
Ivon Anthony Moore-Brabazon, 3rd Baron Brabazon of Tara,, is a British Conservative politician.
The Royal Irish Yacht Club is a yacht club located in Dún Laoghaire Harbour, County Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Republic of Ireland. The club was founded in 1831, with the Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo being its first Commodore. John Skipton Mulvany designed the clubhouse, which still retains a number of original architectural features since being opened in 1851.
Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu was a British aristocrat and Conservative politician, best known for founding the National Motor Museum, as well as for a pivotal cause célèbre following his 1954 conviction and imprisonment for alleged homosexual activity, a charge he denied.
Royal Southampton Yacht Club is located on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire. It received its Royal Charter in 1875 making it one of the oldest Yacht clubs in the UK.
A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. In most cases, they have the shape of a pennant.
Archibald Brabazon Sparrow Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford, was a British peer.
The Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) is a yacht club in Ta’ Xbiex Marina, Ta' Xbiex (Malta).
Ambrose Charles Drexel Greenway, 4th Baron Greenway, is a British marine photographer and shipping consultant. He is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, sitting as a crossbencher.
The rank of general at sea, was the highest position of command in the English Parliamentary Navy, and approximates to the current rank of admiral. Alongside others, the generals at sea were also appointed as Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy.
Christopher John Henry Roper-Curzon, 19th Baron Teynham DSO DSC, was a career officer of the Royal Navy and an English peer, with a seat from 1936 in the House of Lords, where from 1946 to 1959 he was Deputy to the Earl of Drogheda and then to Lord Merthyr as Chairman of Committees.
Peter St Thomas More Henry Hope, 4th Baron Rankeillour was a Scottish landowner, farmer, and member of the House of Lords.