The Anniversary Dinner

The first Anniversary Dinner since 1938 was held at Claridge’s Hotel on 30 November 1945. The Society’s guests included the Prime Minister, Mr Attlee, the Lord President of the Council, Mr Herbert Morrison, the Minister of Education, Miss Ellen Wilkinson, Dr Karl Compton representing the United States Ambassador, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Cunningham, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal, General Sir Frederick Pile and Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Nye. Rising to propose the toast of ‘The Royal Society of London.' Mr Attlee said: ‘Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great honour for me to propose the toast of the Royal Society, the premier scientific society of the world. I should like first of all to pay tribute to your retiring President. For more than two years during the war I occupied the position of Lord President of the Council and as such I was in close contact with the Governmental organizations for research and my chief adviser throughout was Sir Henry Dale. I owed much to his wisdom and kindness. Few people probably in this room know less about science than I do and it was a source of great gratification to me to be able to rely at all times on so experienced and wise an adviser. He will, I think, take a high place in the long roll of Presidents of the Royal Society. It is also a very great pleasure to me to meet his successor, Sir Robert Robinson.