Warwick House , the home of the Guernsey Sporting Club is a 19th Century listed building, opposite Elizabeth College in the Grange.
It was here that, on 13th January 1920, the surviving officers, NCOs and men of the First Guernsey Service Contingent of the Great War, who, as members of the Royal Guernsey Militia had volunteered for service in 1915 and been enlisted in The Royal Irish Regiment, met in a loft to dicuss the possibility of renting and eventually purchasing the building as a home base for a club to be set up as a permanent memorial to the men of the First Service Contingent (“First among the Sons of Guernsey to take up Arms”, as the Club motto proudly asserts.)
In September 1921 a grant from the United Services Fund was confirmed , in recognition of Guernsey’s contribution to the war effort, and on 21st October Warwick House was purchased for £783 10 shillings and 4 pence. It has remained the headquarters of the Club ever since, despite being compulsorily taken over in World War II by the German Occupiers.
Today the Club strives to maintain the objectives of its Founders, by supporting charities which assist serving and retired members of HM Forces and their families, and by providing funds to help young people on the island develop their sporting skills. Members meet regularly in the historic clubroom and bar to relax in one another’s company and to plan the many social and money-raising events which take place throughout the year. In short, the Club, while remaining proud of its Great War heritage, is nevertheless determined to look to the future and to do its utmost to contribute to the wellbeing of its island home in the 21st Century.
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