EVENING LECTURE
CHANEL’S WAR
By Richard Wallace
Monday, 8th September
Talk begins at 19:00
TIME & LOCATION
Date and time: Monday 8th September 2025 from 19:00 – 20:30
Location: The Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6QE
ABOUT THE LECTURE
This book was partly written within our very own members Library.
A few days after Paris was liberated from the Nazis in August 1944, the most notorious fashion couturière in the world collapsed on a hotel bed in Switzerland after escaping the French capitol and certain death. How did an exhausted Coco Chanel get there and who helped her evade warring Allied and German troops?
For 80 years, this incredible feat of courage, luck, and ingenuity in the midst of immense danger has been deliberately shrouded in disinformation and secrecy by family, friends, wary governments, risk-averse business partners, and fellow collaborators. But now, with the aid of new information contained in previously unreleased private French Résistance papers and a new assessment of discredited evidence from organised crime figures, what really happened to Coco Chanel during that fascinating and scandalous period of her life between 1944 and 1954 can finally be revealed.
Book is available for purchase at the event
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Armed with an Honours degree from the Australian National University, Richard Wallace became a journalist with the Fairfax newspaper organisation that included The Sydney Morning Herald, The Melbourne Age, The Canberra Times and the Australian Financial Review among its mastheads. Posted to Europe he covered the death of the Duchess of Windsor in 1986 and the subsequent Geneva auction of her jewellery collection in 1987. Leaving Fairfax, Richard joined the UK Independent shortly after its creation in 1986 at the request of eccentric founding editor Andreas Whittam Smith.
His focus was researching and writing long reads for the weekend magazines. These included profiles of celebrities, actors, authors, and business leaders: Yoko Ono required specific information about the time and place of his birth for her spiritualist before she agreed to be interviewed; he spent a week on the road with 1989 Australian Ashes team and was hospitalised for alcoholic poisoning; the poet Stephen Spender took him on a night-long drinking and gambling spree with the artist Francis Bacon through Mayfair; he found himself alongside Sean Connery in the Savoy’s public toilets before a publicity interview for The Name of Rose that he later wrote up as “I had a slash with James Bond”; he covered the World Chess Championships in Leningrad; Jeffrey Barnard bought him a drink at The Coach & Horses; he was the only reporter other than a representative from The South Wales Evening Post at the inaugural Dylan Thomas Festival in Swansea; and a befuddled Anthony Burgess mistook him for Rolling Stone founder editor Jann Wenner throughout a bizarre encounter in Prague.
All of which proved ample training for his career as a Public Relations executive with an American conglomerate across four continents before joining the Intelligence Services as a media analyst. His last posting was with the since disbanded Information Warfare Division within AUKUS.
In the meantime, he contributed commissioned pieces to The Cricketer magazine and The Mandarin online portal for senior civil service officers.
Join us
for Supper
The Abercromby Dining Room is open from 5:30 PM prior to each evening event. Join fellow members or come with friends and make a night of it.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Captain’s Table
The Captain’s Table is a regular Royal Scots Club lunch where members and their guests can get together and enjoy good food, good conversation and meet new people.
Member only eventMembers Drinks
A rallying call! Gather with your friends and fellow social members in the cocktail bar for an evening drink and a chinwag on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Guests welcome. Food available for purchase. Attendance is free – all food and drinks can be Member only eventG.L.O.W. Gal’s Lunch
Gathering Ladies of Wit. A Royal Scots Club monthly lunch for our ladies and their guests in the Abercromby Dining room. Member only eventGrapes & Gruyère: Guided Tasting Experience
Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or simply someone who enjoys a good drop and a cheeseboard, this is an evening made for you. Member only eventLegacy In Motion: Guided Club History Tour
Discover the untold stories and history of the Royal Scots Club. A private bespoke Club tour with local historian Dr. Kate Stephenson. Member only eventArtist Exhibition – Alicia Coombes
Member only eventSt Andrew’s Day Dinner at The Royal Scots Club
Celebrate Scotland’s patron saint with a delicious three-course dinner, traditional musical entertainment, and an exciting guest speaker. Member only eventChristmas Special: Festive Wine Tasting
Join us for a bespoke festive tasting experience in the Underground Bar with Richard from Great Grog. Expertly paired wines and canapés to celebrate the silly season. Member only eventThe Royal Scots Club Murder Mystery
Join us for a festive murder mystery evening at the Club. Work with fellow guests to unravel the clues, identify the suspects and solve the case before the evening is out. Member only eventChairman’s Christmas Cocktails
Join our Chairman and other Members on Thursday, 17th December for a festive drinks reception. This is a complimentary event available for Members only. Member only event