An Annual Dinner has been a feature of the Society’s programme since its inception. At these a guest is invited to propose the toast to Sherlock Holmes and a list of those who have done so is shown below, which as you will see include many illustrious names.

Each dinner is associated with a particular story taken from the Canon, with a title that is related and perhaps also gives a reference to the speaker. The menus themselves are illustrated with relevant quotations from the particular story. Some of the menus for past dinners are available for purchase and you can see these at https://sherlock-holmes.org.uk/shop/archives/menus/

 

Date	Dinner Name	Speaker
1953	The Blue Carbuncle Dinner
1954	The Charing Cross Dinner
1955	The Gas-fitters’ Ball	Mr Arthur Wontner
1956	The Bruce-Partington Night	Mr T. S. Blakeney
1957	Beeton’s Christmas Annual, 1957	Miss C. A. Lejeune
1958	The “Gloria Scott” Celebration	Mr Carleton Hobbs
1959	The Baskerville Banquet	Mr Hesketh Pearson
1960	The Orange Pip Feast	Mr Ivor Brown
1961	The Garrideb Gathering	Sir Richard Jackson
1962	The Priory School Reunion	Dame Agatha Christie
1963	The Empty House Party	Mr Roger Lancelyn Green
1964	The Bohemian Festival	The Marquis of Donegall
1965	The Naval Treat	Mr Guy Warrack
1966	The Speckled Band Commemoration	Sir Charles Norton
1967	The Red-Headed Evening	Sir Arthur Young
1968	The Mazarin Stone Setting	Mr Alan Dent
1969	The Red Circle Conversazione	Mr Henry Longhurst
1970	The Silver Blaze Soiree	Professor Keith Simpson
1971	The Copper Beeches Salutation	Sir Hugh Greene
1972	The Sign of the Four Course Repast	The Rt Hon Michael Stewart, MP
1973	The Musgrave Meeting	Dr Maurice Campbell
1974	The Napoleonic Occasion	Sir Robert Mark
1975	The Cardboard Box Colloquy	Mr Julian Symons
1976	The Second Stain Scenario	Sir Hugh Wontner
1977	The Reigate Jubilee	Mr Macdonald Hastings
1978	St. Luke’s Gaudy	Lord Redcliffe-Maud
1979	The Abbey Grange Assembly	Sir Desmond Heap
1980	The Pondicherry Nocturne	Mr Michael Gilbert
1981	The Noble Bachelor’s Fete	Miss Madelaine Duke
1982	The Red-Headed Fellowship	Mr Benny Green
1983	Horace Harker’s Harbinger	Mr Philip Howard
1984	The Trumpington Triumph	Miss P. D. James
1985	The Scotland Yard Testimonial	Sir Kenneth Newman
1986	The Shoscombe Schottische	Mr Jeremy Potter
1987	The Centenary Dinner	The Rt Hon Merlyn Rees, MP
1988	The Carfax Convocation	Mr H. R. F. Keating
1989	The Anthropoid Antic	Mr Michael Cox
1990	The Illustrious Interlude	Mr Antony Hopkins, CBE
1991	The Reichenbach Revel	Professor B.J. Rahn
1992	The Langham Libation	Lord Deedes, PC, KBE, MC
1993	The Montpellier Melange	The Rt Rev David Jenkins, DD
1994	The Empty House-Warming	Mr Douglas Wilmer
1995	The “Always 1895” Dinner	Mr Barry Took
1996	The Veiled Lodger’s Masquerade	Sir Sydney Chapman, MP
1997	The Retired Colourman’s Rendezvous	Professor Christopher Frayling, Ph.D
1998	The Morse Hudson Endeavour	Mr Colin Dexter
1999	The Boulevard Assassin’s Banquet	M Pierre Nordon
2000	Judgement Day	Sir David Bodey
2001	The Golden Jubilee Dinner	Mr Barry Cryer
2002	A Dog’s Dinner	Mr Perry Nove QPM
2003	The Scouse Carouse	Professor Sir Roy Meadow
2004	His 150th Bow	Mr Simon Brett
2005	The Mane Event	Mr Stephen Fry
2006	The Sussex Vampire’s Bite	Mr Mark Gatiss
2007	The Twisted Lip Service	Ms Sandi Toksvig
2008	Bohemian Rhapsody	Ms June Thomson
2009	A Boscombe Bunbury	Mr Gyles Brandreth
2010	The Blackmailer’s Beanfeast	Baroness Rendell of Babergh
2011	The Diamond Dinner	Mr Anthony Horowitz
2012	A Whale of a Time	Mr Steven Moffat
2013	The Stranger’s Room Repast	Mr Kim Newman
2014	East Wind Coming	Mr Brian Perkins
2015	The Gillette Jollification	Professor Russell Merritt
2016	The Beryl Coronation	Ms Sue Vertue
2017	The Franco-Midland Fandango	Mr Mark Billingham
2018	The Stormy Petrel Supper	The Rt Hon Lord West of Spithead
2019	The Red-Headed Heist	Mr Bob Neill, MP
2020	The Valley of Cheer	Ms Val McDiarmid
2021	The Louche Lockdown Libation	Mr Leslie S Klinger
2022	The Professorial Provender	Professor Michael Moriarty
2023	The Seven-Per-Cent Salutation	Mr Nicholas Meyer
2024	The Mongoose Munch	Mr Vaseem Khan
2025	A Turkish Delight	Mr Andrew Finkel
2026	The Norwood Nosh	Mr Matthew Sweet