Roy Finlay (19 November 1881 – 20 February 1952) was born in Australia of Scottish descent and is best known for dedicating his life towards creating and sustaining the Phyllis Court Club and its emerging role in the Henley Royal Regatta from 1906 to 1937.

[6] Over the next few years, Finlay devoted his life to refurbishing the house to make Phyllis Court stand out as a venue for the week of the Henley Regatta and to establish it as part of the London Season.

Landowners, society courtiers, military officers and racing-men flocked to the club, with applications greatly exceeding the allocation of places,[7] which said as much about the personal charm and charisma of Finlay as it did about his business sense and attention to detail.

[8] The promise of strong returns encouraged Finlay to offer debentures for members to underwrite enlarging the business whilst taking much of the running of the Club upon himself, aged just 23.

In 1918, however, he returned to the Front working with intelligence in support of Edmund Ironside attached to Kitchener's Army as part of the 11th Battalion of the Essex Regiment.

[24] Finlay's concerns about joining Kitchener's Army were realised when on 14 September during the Hundred Days Offensive on the Hindenberg Line, burnt from a gas shell explosion and suffering from chlorine inhalation as well as temporary blindness, he was transferred back to England to see out the rest of the War recovering from his injuries.

Finlay had captured the mood of the age by placing the emphasis on social entertainment to the point of irreverence but he always maintained its elitist exclusivity, drawing on the London Season to ensure that the Club didn't only depend on Henley Week for revenue.

Shortly afterwards, the Wall Street crash halted any further development to buildings but the club's activities did not slow down, as "Phyllis" had become as much of a national institution as any of the Royal fixtures.

In 1933, he stepped down as managing director and honorary secretary of the Club in favour of his adopted son, Jack Rendle-Mervill and three years later, Finlay proposed selling Phyllis Court to its members, prompting the Henley Standard to write "To people of this neighbourhood who have known Phyllis Court under the suzerainty of Captain Roy Finlay ever since they can remember anything at all, the change will come rather as the passing of a milestone."

[33] Finlay moved out of Phyllis Court for the last time in 1937, returning to his former home, Trevone, in Shiplake, which he had significantly expanded and renamed Bolney Trevor,[34] where he remained through the Second World War.