Members gather for Memorable Battle of Britain Dinner
Special guest speaker Steve Maddock brought history to life during an evening of remembrance, live music and fine dining at the VSC.
Members gathered on Tuesday evening, 15th September 2026, for the VSC’s Battle of Britain Dinner—an informative and memorable occasion commemorating one of the defining campaigns of the Second World War.
The themed event marked the 86th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which was fought in the skies over Britain during the summer and autumn of 1940. Through courage, skill and the effective use of radar technology, the Royal Air Force successfully defended the country against the German Luftwaffe.
Guests enjoyed a specially prepared dining feast, with the food once again proving one of the highlights of the evening. Music was provided by military Royal British Legion band, Phil Willans and his saxophone quartet, whose performance helped create a fitting atmosphere for this special occasion.
The VSC was delighted to welcome Steve Maddock of the Battle of Britain Historical Society as the evening’s guest speaker. Steve provided a fascinating account of the campaign, explaining its history and significance while also sharing his family’s personal connection to the conflict.
His interest in the Battle of Britain was inspired by his uncle, Sgt A. J. Lipscombe of No. 600 Squadron, who served in the Royal Air Force and saw action during the Second World War.
Steve has been associated with the Battle of Britain Historical Society for several years and has served as a volunteer tour guide at both RAF Uxbridge and Bentley Priory. He also manages the Battle of Britain Monument on Victoria Embankment in London, overlooking the River Thames. The striking memorial commemorates those who took part in the campaign and honours their courage and contribution.
Steve’s knowledge and personal reflections gave members a deeper insight into the people behind this pivotal chapter of British history. His talk was a fitting centrepiece to an evening dedicated to remembrance, resilience and the extraordinary bravery of those who defended the nation.
Our thanks go to Steve Maddock, Phil Willans, his fellow musicians, and all the members who joined us for such a special occasion.
The Victory Services Club’s (VSC) Housekeeping Team has been named Housekeeping Team of the Year at the 2026 Triple ‘H’ Awards – The Hotel Housekeeping Honours.
Based near Marble Arch, VSC is a charity that supports serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families, including through welfare and respite breaks. Income generated by its accommodation, meetings and events operation support this charitable work.
Organised by MEG Events Ltd in association with Housekeeping Today UK, the awards recognise excellence across the housekeeping profession. VSC’s 37-strong Housekeeping Team was originally nominated by an external supporter of the Club.
Led by Housekeeping Manager Tamara Pacochova, the team represents nine nationalities and has almost 200 years of combined service. The team looks after 200 bedrooms, as well as the Club’s restaurants, public areas, meeting rooms and event spaces. Its work supports approximately 90,000 overnight guests and more than 30,000 event delegates each year.
The award recognised the team’s consistently high standards, inclusive culture and commitment to developing colleagues. It also highlighted its resilience during a three-month refurbishment of its operational area, when the team worked from around 40% of its usual space while maintaining service with minimal disruption to guests and delegates.
Colin Francis CBE, Club Secretary and CEO of the Victory Services Club, said: “Tamara and the team bring such care, pride and dedication to everything they do, and it’s wonderful to see that recognised with this award. So much of their work happens behind the scenes, but the impact they have on the experience of our members, guests and delegates is evident every day.
Whether they’re helping to make an overnight stay feel special, supporting a busy conference or playing their part in a memorable event, they approach everything with warmth and professionalism. We’re incredibly proud of Tamara and the whole team, not only for the high standards they consistently deliver, but for the way they support one another and always go the extra mile.”
Mark Gleed, Director, MEG Events, said: “The HHH Awards were delighted to announce Victory Services Club as the winner of the Housekeeping Team of the Year. The judges remarked VSC stands out for exceptional loyalty, inclusion, resilience, and culture. The team demonstrated nearly 200 years’ combined service, strong Deaf Guard-supported inclusion, corridor-refurbishment resilience, internal development, powerful testimonials, and high guest praise. It was a deeply human, and operationally strong entry. Congratulations to the entire housekeeping team at Victory Services Club on this well-deserved achievement from all the team at the HHH.”
The win follows VSC retaining Hospitality Assured World Class status in 2026 with an overall score of 84.2%.
We are pleased to announce that our new Members’ Changing Room is now open and available for use.
The facility provides members with a dedicated and practical space to change when their bedrooms are not yet ready for occupancy.
Located on the second floor, opposite Room 251, it replaces the former changing room, previously located on the ground-floor in the guest lift lobby area.
The Changing Room is available for those arriving before their room is ready, preparing for an event, or needing somewhere convenient to change during their visit.
We hope members will find this new facility useful.
We were delighted to welcome Patricia Keppie to the VSC today for a very special Club Secretary’s Lunch.
Patricia recently retired from her role with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), where she volunteered as Public Engagement Coordinator for Scotland, helping to raise awareness of the Commission’s important work and the stories of those it commemorates.
Her connection to the CWGC is also deeply personal. Patricia’s interest in its work stems from her own family history, with 11 members of her family buried across seven different countries, including Australia, France, Belgium, Turkey and Egypt.
We were delighted to have Patricia with us and to hear about her ongoing commitment to the work of the CWGC. Patricia continues to share its important work and stories with others, regularly speaking to schools and cadet groups and helping to ensure that the legacy of those commemorated by the Commission is passed on to future generations.
The CWGC offers free talks and cemetery tours across the country. These are delivered by dedicated volunteers who give their time without receiving expenses and take great satisfaction in knowing that their efforts inspire people to arrange events and support the cause. Although all talks and tours are free, donations to the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation are warmly welcomed and can be made through its website.
If you would like to organise a talk or tour for your interest group, please contact the CWGC directly. Enquiries: foundation.cwgc.org
How my Family Connection Influenced my Work at the CWGC
Patricia Keppie
It’s always been a bit of a running joke in my family that I have been preparing for my role at the CWGC nearly my whole life. When I was growing up my family and I spent a lot of holidays and weekends visiting cemeteries. My father and his cousin were always very interested in our family history, and having an unusual surname makes it much easier to searchwar recordsand establish connections. My grandfather on the Keppie side and his brothers, whom I never met, all served in the First World War.
Patricia’s great uncle James
The first time I encountered the CWGC was when I discovered that my Great-Uncle James was buried in Turkey at theLancashire Landing Cemetery, having died while serving as a stretcher-bearer in the Gallipoli campaign. I will probably never know how he came to do that particular job, which I feel must have required considerable courage.
As I was growing up, my family and I made a lasting connection with the Australian branch of our family, descended from those who had emigrated there in the 1830s. I then found out more about Arthur Ernest Keppie, from New South Wales, who also died at Gallipoli fighting with the ANZAC forces. He is commemorated at the Lone Pine Memorial.
In my more immediate family, two of my grandfather’s first cousins fought in the First World War. Peter was with the Royal Scots and was wounded at the Somme and died at home on 10th July 1916. His photograph, below, always makes me feel I’d like to have known him. But at least I can visit his grave, which is inNewington Cemetery in Edinburgh. His story typifies those of the 21,000 casualties we look after in Scotland, which makes it very easy for me to tell people about them in my work.
I didn’t know much about Peter’s brother, John, until I was able to visit his grave inOrival Wood, Flesquieres, in France in October 2018. I believe I must have been the first family member to visit there in 100 years. John died on 1st October 1918, and the inscription on his headstone says, “Ever Remembered”, and he is.
Coincidentally, our local paper, the Edinburgh Evening News, featured John’s photograph on the front page of its 10th/11th November 2018 issue, as a reminder that, during the Great War, they published similar photos every single day.
The family connection continues in France with the grave of Walter Barrie Keppie, a more distant cousin, who was only 21 when he was killed. He was a cyclist, going up and down the lines taking messages, serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers. He is buried at another of our very small cemeteries in the French countryside, Albuera, Bailleul-sire-Berthoult.
My connections with the CWGC completely coincided in 2019, when I visited Shetland to give a talk in schools. I knew that Robert John Keppie, another distant cousin, had moved from Edinburgh to Lerwick as a young man; had served with McCrae’s Battalion, and was commemorated on a panel at Tyne Cot. He was lost at the 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), and his wife, with four children, had to wait many months before his death was confirmed.
As I was about to give my talk, an audience member came to introduce himself and informed me that he was Robert’s grandson – my sixth cousin. A perfect synergy of work, family and history.
Robert John Keppie
This is only one quarter of my family heritage, so there is a lot more to explore yet like Charles Browning Keppie buried inSt. Sever Cemetery in Rouen, two Australian relatives, and Roderick Keppie, an apprentice golf club maker, who died in Liverpool of fever, having served on the Western Front and in Mesopotamia.
Working for the CWGC has given me a whole new insight into my history and has helped me find out things about my family I would have never known otherwise.
