The Caribbean Community of fifteen island states has presented a bill to No. 10 Downing Street for £18trn in reparation for Britain’s involvement in historic slavery. The African Union has recently announced that it is drawing up its own, continental-size claim. The Irish billionaire, Denis O’Brien, is funding a campaign in favour of reparations in Westminster. Lenny Henry has just published a book promoting them. And the Church of England has already committed itself to pay out an initial £100m to black businesses as penance for its own supposed profiting from slave-trading. Does this make good sense? And if not, why not? Nigel Biggar explains.

Nigel Biggar is Lord Biggar of Castle Douglas, Regius Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford, and Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Pusey House, Oxford. He holds a B.A. in Modern History from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Christian Theology & Ethics from the University of Chicago. And he is a priest in the Church of England.

Described as “one of the leading living Western ethicists” (by John Gray, formerly Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, New Statesman, 25 November 2020), Professor Biggar was appointed Commander of the British Empire “for services to higher education” in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list and named one of Prospect magazine’s Top Thinkers of 2024. In January 2025 he entered the House of Lords as a Conservative peer.

Among his most recent books are Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt (Swift, 2025); Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (William Collins, 2023, 2024), What’s Wrong with Rights? (Oxford, 2020), Between Kin and Cosmopolis: An Ethic of the Nation (2014), and In Defence of War (Oxford, 2013).

In the press, he has written on the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Spectator (London), colonialism in the National Post (Toronto), freedom of speech in the Times (London), the ‘Culture Wars’ and illegal migration in the Daily Telegraph (London), the Iraq War in the Financial Times (London) and the Straits Times (Singapore), the possibility of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Northern Ireland in the Irish Times (Dublin), and why Australia should remain a monarchical republic in The Australian (Sydney).

He has lectured at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London; the UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham; the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, Hamburg; the US Military Academy, West Point; the US Naval Academy, Annapolis; and the National Defense University, Washington, DC.

His hobbies include walking over battlefields. In 1973 he drove a Morris Traveller from Scotland to Afghanistan; and in 2015 and 2017 he trekked across the mountains of central Crete in the footsteps of Patrick Leigh-Fermor and his comrades, when they abducted General Kreipe in April-May 1944. He enjoys playing an anarchical card-game.

Dr Russell Wilcox has been a barrister in independent practice since 2014. He studied Modern History at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and has postgraduate degrees from London University. He has previously published in the areas of legal theory and comparative law.

“Sunday, Bloody Sunday”(1971 John Schlesinger), presented by Michael Bloch

To reserve your place, or to propose a future cinematic experience, please email SavilianFilmSociety@gmail.com

Savilian John Mason is delighted to present John Duffett.

John Duffett is a professional Magician based in London, and a recent winner of the “Magic Circle Close Up Magician of the Year” competition, one of the most prestigious titles in Magic. He is one of the top entertainers in the country, John has flown all over the world to entertain celebrities, top CEOs and more. He is guaranteed to create laughter and astonishment in this incredible evening of Sleight of Hand Magic and Mind-Reading.

John Mason has conjured numerous events at the Savile Club, including his very popular signature Magic Evenings as well as engaging talks with Bill Browder, focused on his bestselling books.

Stanley Kalms began working for his father’s company Dixons, later Currys PLC, from 1948, helping to develop the brand from a single photography studio into a major retail chain that sold electronic equipment, TVs, stereos, computers and appliances.  He became chairman and life president of the group, which also owned the electronic retailers Currys and PCWorld.

He was knighted in 1996 and raised to the peerage in 2004.  He was Treasurer of the Conservative Party 2001/2003.  He was a member of the Savile Club from 2005.

David Lewis is a Chartered Surveyor and chairman of various privately controlled investment companies.  His family interests include the Schorr Collection which is a wide-ranging collection of works of art of which a significant proportion is on loan to public bodies, museums and institutions in the UK and abroad.  A full catalogue of the Old Master and 19th century collections was published in 2013 and three addenda in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

He has been a member of the Savile Club since 1996 and is currently the senior trustee.

In his new book, Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler, bestselling historian, Tim Bouverie, examines the often-fractious alliance that conquered the Axis.  The Grand Alliance was an improbable and incongruous coalition, divided by ideology and politics and riven with mistrust and deceit. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin were partners in the fight to defeat Hitler, yet they were also rivals who disagreed on strategy, imperialism and the future of liberated Europe. Only by looking at their points of conflict, as well as of co-operation, are we able to understand the course of the war and world that developed in its aftermath.

Described as ‘an astonishing piece of scholarship’ by James Holland, ‘a masterpiece…that is a pleasure to read’ by Richard J. Evans and ‘the best book I have ever read on  the politics of the Second World War’ by Tim Shipman, Allies at War is a fast-paced, narrative history, based on material drawn from over 100 archives, that uses vivid first-hand accounts and unpublished diaries, to take readers into the rooms where the critical decisions were made, while going beyond the confines of the Grand Alliance to examine, among other aspects, the doomed Anglo-French alliance, fractious relations with General de Gaulle and the Free French, and interactions with Poland, Greece and Nationalist China.

In what promises to be a fascinating discussion, Tim will offer a fresh perspective on the Second World War and the origins of the Cold War.

Tim Bouverie is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller and New York Times Editor’s Pick, Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill and the Road to War, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. He studied history at Christ Church Oxford and was the 2020-21 Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford.  His new book, Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler was an instant bestseller and was described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘enthralling and authoritative…deeply researched and gracefully written’ and by the Economist as, ‘Masterful…packed with fresh detail and gossipy anecdotes.’ 

Henry Whorwood was at Oxford with Tim and has been a member of the Savile since 2023.

For the romantically-minded, pianist Kate Williams will be playing cocktail jazz in the Ballroom from 7 pm

until about 9pm.

TO BOOK A TABLE PLEASE EMAIL RECEPTION TEAM: Joanna, Irina and Anna at reception@savileclub.co.uk

We are surrounded by bold claims and quick fixes for improving our immune systems. In this expert guide, leading immunologist Daniel M. Davis sorts the fact from fiction. Is it true that orange juice can help ward off colds? How does age affect our immune system? Is mental health really connected to inflammation? How do we separate the bogus claims from the useful advice? And given its sheer complexity, is there anything we can do to improve our immune system? World-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis examines the effects of stress, diet, age, exercise, the microbiome and more on the immune system, punctures the key myths, and equips us to make informed choices for ourselves. ‘Brilliant. Will change the way you think about your body and live your life’ CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN. ‘A world expert offers practical tips and dispels many myths’ TIM SPECTOR. ‘The best book on immune health I have ever read’ ALICE ROBERTS. ‘Utterly absorbing. Nearly every paragraph brings a revelation’ BILL BRYSON.

Daniel M. Davis is Head of Life Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London. His research using microscopy has helped pioneer the nanoscale biology of immune cell recognition and the immune synapse. He has published over 150 scientific papers and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is also the author of several books published by Penguin Random House including The Beautiful Cure (a Book of the Year in the Times, Telegraph and New Scientist, translated into 15 languages); The Secret Body and Self Defence: A Myth-busting Guide to Immune Health. In 2025, he was awarded an MBE for services to science communication.

Cliff Collis has a wide background in science with a doctorate in fish neurophysiology and researching in and teaching physiology and biochemistry at UCL and Kings College London. He also worked as a communication specialist doing knowledge/issue management in Roche drug development and finally was the professional registers and training manager at the Royal Society of Biology. He has always been passionate about promoting interest and understanding in science and was very pleased to be able to continue to do this in Savile Science, where he has organised talks on such diverse topics as Mars rovers, the psychological benefits of music, microplastic pollution and cyber security. Several members have given talks as well, and members are invited to offer suitable talks or suggest speakers.

Aperitif Concert videothèque: https://www.youtube.com/@savileaperitif

In this talk, Anna Liu and Mike Tonkin, of Tonkin Liu Architects, will introduce the design process for Grosvenor Square Gardens, and demonstrate how it was used to generate design proposals in an international design competition won by Tonkin Liu Architects in 2020.  The project gained planning permission in 2022, has commenced on site, and is due for completion in 2026. In addition to fulfilling the pragmatics of the brief and the aspirations of the client, Anna and Mike will show how their practice’s design process, Asking Looking Playing Making, (RIBA publication 2025) has helped to find the spirit of place, to deliver a project with an unique, unifying identity.

Mike Tonkin qualified as an architect in 1989, the year he set up his practice. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in London in 1986 after receiving first-class honours at Leeds Polytechnic, having completed an apprenticeship as an architectural technician with training at Bath Technical College. His interest in nature led to his qualification as a landscape architect in 2014. He has taught for many years, including for a decade at the University of Bath and as a unit master at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, the University of Westminster and London Metropolitan. He has been an external examiner for the master’s courses at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and a longstanding visiting critic. He completed his PhD at the University of Bath and is currently a Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture.     

Anna Liu qualified as an architect in 2002, after completing her Master of Architecture at Columbia University, New York, in 1994 and a liberal arts education encompassing chemistry and comparative literature at Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1987. Her experience has drawn from working in the UK, China and Japan where she discovered architecture, the US where she grew up, and Taiwan where she was born. She has taught as a unit master at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, the University of Westminster and London Metropolitan, and has been an external examiner at the Bartlett School of Architecture and at the University of Dundee. She is a trustee of the Open City charity, a Visiting Practice Professor at Sheffield School of Architecture, and a MArch external examiner at London Metropolitan University.

Antony Miller is well known to many of you as our Club architect.  Beyond the walls of Brook Street however, he has enjoyed a long career with Trehearne Architects who are currently celebrating their 125th Year.  His interest in classical European architecture and its development has reinforced his far-reaching knowledge of London building types where he has reinvigorated heritage buildings, mainly in Mayfair and St James’s, representing every major architectural period from early Georgian to late Modern often creating compelling interiors and beguiling lighting, bringing a contemporary edge to design within historic contexts.

“It” (1927, Clarence G. Badger and Josef von Sternberg), presented by Charles Westwood

To reserve your place, or to propose a future cinematic experience, please email SavilianFilmSociety@gmail.com