British United Services Club of Los Angeles The Club was founded in 1935 by a group of British officers and consular members . The first president was the then - Consul General Francis Evans , later Sir Francis Evans ( born in Belfast , Ireland ) . Many of the original members were actors in the movie industry , and included Sir C . Aubrey Smith , Gene Lockhart and Alan Mowbray , to name but a few . Meetings were held on the third Friday of the month at the Masquers Club in Hollywood . Strict British Officers Mess protocol was ( and still is ) observed and members were required to wear mess dress uniform or black tie dinner jacket , with miniatures . Ladies were not admitted to club as members until 1988 . While the Club originally met at the Masquers Club in Hollywood , the deterioration of the neighborhood and subsequently the sale and destruction of the Masquers Club in 1985 , forced the BUSC to move to the Verdugo Club in Glendale . The Glendale facilities where closed in 1994 , and the Club moved to its current venue at the Altadena Country Club in Altadena , just north of Pasadena . During its over 70 years in existence , the Club has had many distinguished gentlemen as members , including several Medal of Honor recipients , VC , DFC , MM , and OBE and MBE holders . ( Hearing the stories in the anteroom after dinner is one of the highlights of the evening . ) Membership is by invitation only . Prospective members are asked to attend a dinner meeting to see if it is the kind of association they would like and to meet the members . BLACK TIE , OR MESS DRESS UNIFORM IS MANDATORY . LADIES SHOULD WEAR APPROPRIATE COCKTAIL EVENING WEAR . Membership is also awarded to diplomatic and consulate personnel and the Consul General of the United Kingdom , New Zealand , Canada , and Australia are currently members of the club . Active membership is reserved for British servicemen / women and ex - servicemen / women , American servicemen / women who have served under British command , and Commonwealth servicemen / women . Associate membership is reserved for British subjects , and American and other allied servicemen who have NOT served under British Command . After three years in good standing , an associate member may be elevated to active membership . For details of the BUSC founders mentioned above and others , click on these links : Sir Francis Evans , C . Aubrey Smith , Gene Lockhart , Alan Mowbray , Lt . Walter D . Ehlers , US Army , Medal of Honor ( Current BUSC member ) Philanthropic and Community Work . The British United Services Club is proud to be the sponsor of the annual drill competition for Los Angeles area high schools ' Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps ( JROTC ) . For 64 years a trophy has been awarded to the winning drill team at an awards ceremony attended by Club members and diplomatic members from Commonwealth and Allied countries . The competition is supported by the Los Angeles City Board of Education , the United States Armed Forces and officials of State , County and local governments . The Club also sponsors an annual scholarship to New Mexico Military Institute . In past years , three Presidents of the United States have congratulated the winning units and have commended the Club for its interest in youth . Veteran Organization . The BUSC - LA is a veteran ’ s organization and attends all nationally recognized veterans events ; this includes Memorial Day ( US , UK , and Canada ) and Veterans Day US . At these events the BUSC - LA lays writhes for fallen allied comrades and morns their death .