Have you heard? The Athenaeum is opening for Heritage Open Day! ON Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September the Club will be opening its doors for two very special days! Many pass the Athenaeum’s Church Alley doorway without knowing what exactly it is, now’s your chance to come inside and discover The Athenaeum!

On Saturday 21st September we will be operating an ‘open house’, come down and enjoy our facilities from 11:00am until 10:00pm. The Newsroom will be open throughout the day serving fine food and beverage, why not unwind and relax in style in palatial surroundings? There are no guided tours taking place on Saturday, however, there will be members on hand to help anyone with any questions about the Club.

In yesterday’s edition of The Times there featured a full-page obituary for our friend and Past President, Sir David Maddison. Sir David passed away peacefully earlier in July of this year, and we hope you agree that the piece, which can be found below, is a fitting tribute to a great man who will be sorely missed.

(press the above to enlarge)

Yesterday many across the world commemorated the 75^th Anniversary of the Normandy landings. Often referred to as D-Day, the Allied Invasion of Normandy during World War II was the largest seaborne invasion in history and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

Members of the Athenaeum and the Alexandrian’s of Merseyside, including the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mr Mark Blundell DL and former Lord Lieutenant Dame Lorna Muirhead DCVO, DBE, CSTJ, DL gathered at the Club for lunch to remember the occasion.

Further afield we were fortunate enough yesterday to be receiving reports from the front line by our own correspondent, Graham Burgess. Graham took part in a commemorative walk in Normandy with the Royal Marines, retracing the route taken by his father’s unit on that day 75 years ago – Royal Marines 4^th Special Service Brigade.  Our thanks to Graham for sharing these bulletins, giving an insight into this Brigade’s journey, in what were some of the most important days in recent history.

1. 07:32 – Landings began at Gold Beach, Jig Sector, by Royal Marines 4^th Special Service Brigade. Heavy Fire from blockhouse and machine gun posts. Heavy Casualties. Much Equipment destroyed. Hand to hand fighting. Beach no yet cleared.
2. Heavy shelling onto beach and at approaching landing craft. Mortars firing constantly.Heavy equipment losses very heavy. Block house on beach holding out. Very heavy fighting here. No tanks have landed successfully yet.
3. Small breakthrough in beach defences made at 9:30. Advancing to rear. Heavy shelling and machine gun fire. HMS Fury has moved in shot giving direct supporting fire.
4. Small groups are infiltrating behind defences. Blockhouse on beach causing heavy damage to approaching vessels. Still no tanks. Crossroads 300 yards from beach occupied preventing enemy reinforcements access to beach.
5. Moving out of Asnelles towards Rodeo.
6. At Pint, 2 miles inland of Le Hamel. Taking fire from bunkers on hill at Arromanches. Advancing towards rear Arromanches
7. Grid Reference 01595 – 37704. La Carrefour. Light resistance, small garrison surrendered.
8. Preparing to attack Point 54. With Dorset Regiment. Hidden bunkers encountered. Heavy machine gun fire.
9. Point 54 taken. Les Mont de Ryes. 1 killed, several RM light wounds. 7 enemy killed 24 captured. Further bunkers in tree line under attack towards Arromanches.
10. Moving on La Rosiere
11. Approaching Tracy-sur-mer
12. Attacking La Rosiere. The Assembly Area for 4th Special Service Brigade. During the approach an enemy officer on horseback rode up and demanded the Royal Marines surrender. He was shot dead. Heavy fighting house to house in village. Stubborn resistance.
13. Heavy fighting at La Rosiere. An enemy convoy intercepted at crossroads. Captured vehicles weapons, troops. During that attack the diversion was used to mount an assault on village. Enemy surrender. 20 prisoners taken. 1 RM killed, 11 wounded
14. Heading north from La Rosiere
15. Passing inland of Longues-Sur-Mer. Just captured enemy Sgt Major on bicycle heading to meet his girlfiend in a brothel at Ouistreham. Reached Abbeye de Longues just south of Longues-sur-mer. Monks have thrown open their abbey for wounded. Several wounded by shu mines outside village. Intermittent fire from Longues sur mer. Re-arming and replenishing ammunition.
16. Fire fight near La Buherrie. Brief opposition overcome. No casualties
17. Chateau le Busq. Believed to be enemy communications centre. Found to be refugee centre for Spanish Fascists.
18. Objective in sight. Port en Bassin Heavy fire from both sides.
19. Probing towards Port en Bassin. Several hidden bunkers, trench system, and 2 flak ships moored in port. Flak ships laying down heavy cannon fire. Responding with own heavy machine guns. Port heavily defended
20. Capture of Escures just inland of Port en Bassin Three troops assaulting Port en Bassin.  Two troops laying down fire on flanks. Royal Navy bombarding Port fir one hour. Air attack by Typhoons timed for time of assault.
21. Outside western Port en Bassin a bayonet charge over 200 yards of open ground by 20 Royal Marines broke through enemy defences allowing entry into port area.
22. Beg to report Port en Bassin has surrendered

End.

Staff were greeted to a shock this morning upon the discovery that our grand Presidents’ Board, located in the entrance hall, had vanished! Initial reports pointed to daring heist by a Past President who had recently suggested the board would look good in his new kitchen, but after thorough interrogation the suspect cleared his name, confessing that he ‘had only stole a biscuit from the Newsroom but not the Presidents Board’ as it ‘wouldn’t fit in my pocket’…. The mystery continued!

The board -a who’s who of Liverpool life during the Club’s existence, from Roscoe to Doctors Currie and Duncan, to Chavasse and in more recent times Colonel ‘Paddy’ Bryson to Elizabeth Christie (HH Judge Steel) just to name half a dozen- has been a discussion point within the Institution as of late as following our current President, David Roscoe’s name being gold leafed into Athenaeum history there was no more room for future Presidents. What are we going to do next? Shut up shop after 222 years? Not a chance. Perhaps commission a thinner board to be made to go alongside the current board? Hmm, maybe. What about commissioning a new similar board? I suspect the President’s would look a little lonely for a few years before it began to be populated. For a moment, however, the question what were we doing next was overshadowed by ‘what are we going to do NOW?’

The solution to what we are doing now and next conveniently was the same, and it lay at our reception in the form of a receipt for ‘the collection of one honour board’ from Master Craftsman, Neil Wyn Jones. Proprietors may remember this name as he is the gentleman who built the Monsarrat Cabinet located in the aforementioned room. The Presidents’ Board thankful had not become the spoils of a daring raid on the premises, but in fact is on its way to a workshop for some magic to take place before it returns ahead of the AGM on July 3rd, where our third female President, Dr Gaynor Bresnen, will be added to the board, the very same board that the names of all our Presidents before her reside!