[4] In March 1947 a venue was chosen, and 46 Belgrave Square[5] – only "seven minutes' walk from Guide headquarters" on Buckingham Palace Road[6] – was leased for the purpose, using a £9,000 loan from GIS funds.
[8][9] Seven members of the GIS, who had returned from service in continental Europe, lodged "in great discomfort" in the building's stable[10] while they worked to "bring it up to Grosvenor Estate post-war standards".
[14] In the run-up to the opening, there was a big push among the Guiding community to collect donated and loaned furniture and decorations.
[16] The Guide Club opened on 2 November 1948, with the first reviews published in the January 1949 edition of The Guider magazine.
In 1956 the club added televisions[20] and in 1960 hot and cold running water was installed in some bedrooms.
[38] The club's first AGM was held on 31 March 1954 with Marsham as chair and Lady Cochrane present as her successor.
[41] At the time of her visit the club was hosting members from Tristan da Cunha, Barbados, India, Pakistan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Sierra Leone and Norway.
[48] The club would host "Musical Evenings" and "Bring and Buy" sales to raise money for its Amenities Fund.
[52] Function rooms were also rented out to third parties, including the British Red Cross, the YMCA, St John Ambulance[53][54] the Clan Donnichaidh Society[55] and the Black Welsh Mountain Sheep Breeders Association.
[62] About the proposed sale, the club secretary Beryl Gibson said "We are very fond of Belgrave Square, but we realise we are sitting on a very expensive property and think we could get something else which would not cost as much.