Peace returned to St. John's with the conclusion of World War II
and victory in Europe. All eyes turned towards the Pacific,
and one by one all the Naval establishments departed St. John's. Finally, on June 13, 1945, the Seagoing
Officers' Club closed its doors.
However, 1945-46 were also years of great repatriation. Thousands of Newfoundlanders
returned home from overseas.
Early in May 1946, a meeting of some 80 officers, representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force of both World Wars,decided to form a Newfoundland Officers Club.
A committee had drawn up a constitution and, at a general meeting it was approved, in principle, and an executive
elected to find "clubrooms and furnish them forthwith." Colonel Outerbridge again solved
the problem of quarters by offering, on behalf of Harvey and
Co. Ltd., the vacated Crow's Nest at the same annual rent offered its former tenants.
On July 8 1946, exactly one month after the general meeting, "The Newfoundland Officers' Club- Crow's
Nest" opened for business. The newly knighted Sir Leonard Outerbridge served as its first president. The name has since been changed to
the "Crow's Nest Officers' Club."
Almost 60 years since its establishment, the club is owned by its members, and is known worldwide.
It has become a museum of sorts, containing hundreds, if not thousands, of mostly military artifacts.
The Crow's Nest is considered a significant structure by the Canadian Navy. It and the surrounding building was recognized as a registered Heritage Structure in April 1990
by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.
