The following typewritten note is taped inside the front cover of the RNMC Committee Meetings Ledger 1954-1989.

The idea of a Naval Medical Dinner first originated in The Royal Yacht VICTORIA & ALBERT where Fleet Surgeon A R Bankart and a colleague, Fleet Surgeon J E Lloyd Thomas circulated Naval Medical Officers and received overwhelming support in favour of such a dinner

The result was that 70 Naval Surgeons foregathered at the Criterion Restaurant in January 1909 for what was to be the First Naval Medical Dinner.

The records show that a letter from the Criterion Restaurant in December 1908 illustrating that secretarial nightmare of having arranged the DInner on the wrong day, but it would appear that this difficulty was overcome before any damage had been done. THe only guests at this first dinner where the Editors of the BMJ and The Lancet. 

in 1911, Surgeon General, Sir James Porter suggested that a Royal Navy Medical Club should be formed with the object of persuading its members to subscribe to, and administer, the Naval Medical Supplemental Fund. The result was in 1912, the RNMC as such was born. The RNMC however, remained a dining club and was not in fact associated with Naval Medical charities. 

The club flourished between the wars,  but there being no meeting during the period of hostilities. 

In 1953, owing to the increasing popularity, it was decided to transfer the dinner the the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, thus making it a more truly naval function and in comparison with the 70 members who sat down in 1909, 350 members and guests were present on 27th April 1953. 

FInally, it might be added that the present members of the club can be divided into  four general groups comprising offices on the Active List, officers on the retired list, past and present members of the reserves, and civilian consultants to the Navy.