By: Mark Lanyon

The St. George’s Society of Baltimore, Limited. I had a wonderful phone call with Senior Vice President Harry Aycock, BEM. Found out that Harry took a floundering Society back in 2014 and, through teamwork, dedication, passion, and determination, they, in Harry’s words, “rescued the Society”. The Society invites the Presidents of various Societies to their annual dinner, and in turn, they invite them to theirs. These include the St Andrew’s Society of Baltimore, the Hibernian Society of Baltimore, and the German Society of Maryland, something St George’s has been doing for over one hundred years. The Society has worked since 2014 to provide hospitality to visiting Royal Navy Warships, a tradition which goes back over one hundred years but according to Harry, “it may have been lacking in substance until ten years ago.” The Society provides beer vouchers for the seaman and a bottle of whisky for the Captain along with additional bottles of spirits being provided to the Officers’ Wardroom. Recent ship visits include HMS Argyll in 2014, HMS Monmouth in 2018, and HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2019. In 2023, the Society events included the Prince of Wales Brunch, the Annual Dinner, a Coronation Ball, the annual St George’s Cup polo match, Trafalgar Night Dinner, and a Remembrance Sunday Service and British War Grave Marking. The Society was able to raise money for Help for Heroes, the Invictus Games Foundation, the Royal British Legion, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, and the Prince’s Trust USA. It was great to hear the Society has some younger members, and they have at least three sets of father/son members. Harry said he believes they have carved out a niche for St George’s in Baltimore. Harry also said the Society has discovered through trial and error for them the best way to attract new members is through word of mouth. As I told Harry on behalf of their Society, “well done”. In October 2023, Harry received the British Empire Medal for service to the St George’s Society of Baltimore at an investiture at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.