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Join us on Thursday 28 September, for a networking evening with an energising twist! This event is in partnership with broken clock vodka and press coffee & co. They will be curating an exclusive menu of espresso martinis, cold brew negronis and mocktails just for this event at Dartmouth House!

Judge Training designed for experienced judges and new volunteer judges to learn about ESU competitions and connect with one another.

On Monday, 9 October, Salisbury and Wiltshire branch of the ESU are joined by James Stopford to hear more about the history of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. The Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms was first formed in 1509 during the turbulent years of Henry VIII to…

The ESU London Branch Members’ book club meets once a month at Dartmouth House to exchange views on a book chosen by the group. Discussions take place from 11.00-12.30hrs on the third Wednesday of each month. If you would like to join our friendly and informal club please contact Kathleen…

‘Inn Signia’ – John Ericson, an erudite and entertaining speaker will be lecturing on the artwork and stories behind peculiar pub names. For tickets, please contact the Dining Secretary, Sue Maunder, on suemaunderesu@gmail.com.

Basil Eastwood, former Ambassador to Syria will speak on: ‘Islam and the West. Islam in the West’ on Wednesday 18th October in the Apostle Room of Clifton Catholic Cathedral, Pembroke Road, BS8 3BX. Doors open for light refreshments at 7-15pm, with the talk starting at 7-45pm.

The ESU are delighted to invite you to our upcoming debate at Dartmouth House, on Thursday, 19 October. As we increasingly rely on technology in our everyday lives, the question of online safety becomes more pressing. How do we navigate the delicate balance between technological advancement and our personal safety? The motion for this debate is: ‘This house believes that the fight for online safety is a lost cause.' We are please to announce that the speakers for this debate are: Proposition First Speaker Racheal Muldoon is an internationally recognised barrister in the intersection of technology and law with deep expertise in AI and emerging technologies. Racheal has also recently been shortlisted for the Technology, Data and Crypto Junior Barrister of the Year The Legal 500 (Legalease) 2023 Bar Awards. 2nd Speaker Orhan Ahmed is a Fraud Manager at Apple, and has a distinguished background in online safety and technology, drawn from his career as a Fraud and Disputes Operations Manager at Monzo Bank. Additionally, Orhan has strong debating experience as the former convener for the University of Aberdeen Debate Society. Opposition First speaker Dex Hunter-Torricke is head of global communications and marketing for Google DeepMind, one of the world's leading AI labs. Over the last 15 years Dex has advised leaders from technology and politics including as head of communications for SpaceX, reporting to Elon Musk, as head of executive communications for Facebook where he served as Mark Zuckerberg's personal speechwriter, and as Google's first executive speechwriter where he wrote for Eric Schmidt and Larry Page. Dex began his career as speechwriter for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A New York Times-bestselling ghost writer, he is a frequent public speaker on technology's impact on society.

Celebrate Black History Month with the London Branch on a walking tour of the hidden African and Caribbean history in Mayfair from the 1920s to the 2020s. This two-hour mobile history presentation by the expert guide from Black History Walks will offer some fascinating insights: from…

The black-tie event at ESU’s headquarters at Dartmouth House in London on Tuesday, 24 October 2023 at 6.15pm. The event will open with a reception, followed by the Evelyn Wrench lecture which will be delivered by our President, HRH The Princess Royal, concluding with a three-course dinner.

On the 2nd of November we will be joined by Simon Bucknall & Maryam Pasha for a live version of their podcast ‘Speechless: stories that change the world.’ The podcast provides advice on how to tell stories whilst public speaking that will last a lifetime. Previous episodes of…

Join Salisbury branch for an interesting lecture with Rupert Wieloch The Salisbury branch of the ESU invites you to a lecture with Rupert Wieloch to learn more about Churchill's Abandoned Prisoners. One hundred years ago a group of fifteen British soldiers serving with the British Mission to Siberia were captured by the Red Army on Russian Christmas Eve (6th January). They were held in a lice-infested room at Krasnoyarsk for three months, whilst Prime Minister Lloyd George’s representative signed a prisoner exchange treaty with Lenin’s envoy in Copenhagen. One of the prisoners was a young Captain Brian Horrocks (played by Edward Fox in the film A Bridge Too Far), who succumbed to epidemic typhus, but was saved by his best friend who nursed him through the illness. Another captive, Francis McCullagh, was the only western correspondent to interview the Tsar’s assassin. In March, the prisoners were escorted to Irkutsk where a British train arrived to pick them up, but the Bolshevik authorities only allowed the women and children to leave and sent the despondent soldiers 3,500 miles to hateful prisons in Moscow. In his talk at the English-Speaking Union, Rupert Wieloch will describe how the soldiers maintained morale and coped with their fearsome ordeal and explain what the War Secretary, Winston Churchill, did to secure their protracted release and how their incarceration became a ’cause célèbre’ in the House of Commons. Rupert was educated at Winston Churchill’s alma mater and completed a Fellowship in International Relations at Pembroke College, Cambridge during a 35 year career in the British Army. His extensive research includes a treasure-trove of unpublished document, as well as archives from Philadelphia, London, St Petersburg and Oxford and the testimony from the families of some of the prisoners. To book your place please contact the Luncheon Secretary – Julia Tibbs. Tel, 01722 325552 or e-mail, jetibbs@gmail.com. Guests are welcome to arrive from 10.15 for coffee, followed by the lecture and then lunch.

The ESU London Branch Members’ book club meets once a month at Dartmouth House to exchange views on a book chosen by the group. Discussions take place from 11.00-12.30hrs on the third Wednesday of each month. If you would like to join our friendly and informal club please contact Kathleen…

Please save the date for our annual branch dinner on Thursday, 16 November with guest speaker The Air Chief Marshal The Lord Peach GBE KCB DL. More details to follow.

Join us on Friday, 24 November at the ESU headquarters in Mayfair as we celebrate over 100 years of Anglo-American cooperation and cultural exchange with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Enjoy a two-course American style dinner. As well as a drink and canapés on arrival.

Save the date for the Oxfordshire Branch Thanksgiving Lunch which will this year again be held at Studley Wood Golf Club on 26 November. More details to follow.   To book contact Dr Jan Carter jan@paddockcottage.net or ring 01865 848528 or Tim Hallchurch tim@paddockcottage.net 01865 377099…

Join ESUs Salisbury and Wiltshire branch for an interactive experience that explores the history of glass-making. From his own collection, Dr Burroughes brings historic and valuable items of glass for members to examine for themselves, to illustrate the history of glass-making from 3,000 B.C. to the present day. He is…

The ESU London Branch Members’ book club meets once a month at Dartmouth House to exchange views on a book chosen by the group. Discussions take place from 11.00-12.30hrs on the third Wednesday of each month. If you would like to join our friendly and informal club please contact Kathleen…

The ESU London Branch Members’ book club meets once a month at Dartmouth House to exchange views on a book chosen by the group. Discussions take place from 11.00-12.30hrs on the third Wednesday of each month. If you would like to join our friendly and informal club please contact Kathleen…