Union Jack Club

The Union Jack Club owes its existence to a nurse named Ethel McCaul, who served in field hospitals during the South African War at the turn of the twentieth century. While observing the military landscape, she noticed a sharp inequality in how service members were treated when visiting London. Officers had access to exclusive gentlemen clubs, but enlisted personnel were forced to stay in public houses of varying reputation. Determined to provide a dignified alternative, McCaul campaigned for a space where soldiers and their families could stay for no more than one day's pay. Waterloo was chosen as the location because it acted as the primary railhead for troops traveling to ports and garrisons across the British Empire.