Emperor Penguin
Proudly located at the top of the main stairs is an Emperor Penguin [Aptenodytes forsteri] from the Scott Antarctic Expedition, mounted by the by the foremost taxidermist of the day, Roland Ward, and presented to the club by Surgeon Commander G. Murray Levick RN.
Levick was given leave from the Royal Navy to join Scott on his Terra Nova expedition, where he photographed and recorded his observations extensively. He spent the summer of 1911-12 in the midst of an Adélie penguin rookery at Cape Adere, breaking new ground with his research which was later published in his book Antarctic Penguins. Prevented from returning on the Terra Nova in February 1912, Levick and five other members of the party were forced to endure conditions of extreme hardship in an ice cave on Inexpressible Island for the rest of the winter.
At dinners, the penguin is often the subject of a popular toast by club members.