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Historical information
| Bob Ogley celebrates the Centenary of the Rotary movement | |
| Notes on the formation of the club |
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| Origins of the Amherst name and its use by the club |
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| Past presidents of the club and highlights of each year |
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| A complete list of past and present members |
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| Members of the club honoured for their contributions to charity and the club |
In February 2005 we celebrate the centenary of the Rotary movement. Bob Ogley, a member of Sevenoaks Rotary Club for 28 years and a former editor of the Chronicle, explains the local story behind the Rotary movement.
Rotary came to the district in 1932 when a group of well-known local businessmen gathered at Bligh's Hotel and decided that a caring town like Sevenoaks needed to join a movement which was winning world-wide acclaim for fellowship and countless acts of service.
Barty Foskett, senior partner at Knocker and Foskett, Fred Woodhams, a local builder, A.H.Trinder, head postmaster and George Bradbury, clerk to Sevenoaks UDC were the principal characters behind the formation of Sevenoaks Rotary Club.
Within a few weeks they had invited 24 people of ‘local prominence’ to become charter members of a club that was to capture the hearts and minds of the local community and, along with Sevenoaks Preservation Society, provide the town with strong and influential voice.
Sevenoaks, like all Rotary Clubs was, in those days, a bastion of middle-aged respectability. Every Friday lunchtime men in pinstripes suits and bowler hats could be seen making their way to Bligh’s Hotel for a long lunch followed by a speaker whose subject invariably reflected a great topic of the day..
Foskett was the first president and Trinder was his secretary. Charter members included Fred Ibbett the auctioneer, Vic Craze the High Street florist, Frank Strange, the electrician, Donald Hooper, manager of the Kent Messenger and James Kirkwood-Browne, the fiery Scottish editor of the Sevenoaks Chronicle.
Members were required to attend a minimum number of meetings. A classification system meant that only one person could represent his trade or profession in which they should hold an executive position. The policy of the new club was to find the person suitable to represent a certain classification and then invite him to become a member.
Few Sevenoaks businessmen ever declined an invitation. It was an honour to join this Friday lunchtime gathering which always started with a rousing song. Members took turns in the presidential chair and they brought to evening committee meetings their own ideas which in many cases left a lasting imprint on the community.
This stuffy image of Rotary as an organisation suitable only for the likes of Captain Mainwaring of Dad's Army has long since disappeared and so have most of the formal rules.
Today, Sevenoaks Rotary Club is far more inclusive, members are no longer required to attend a minimum number of meetings and women can be accepted as members. The local Rotary clubs encourage their wives and familes to get involved in voluntary activities and have an entirely different outlook from their colleagues of 70 years ago.
One of the most successful projects undertaken by Sevenoaks was a gala concert at the Stag Theatre with Richard Stilgoe and Peter Skellern. It raised £10,000 and helped with an international Rotary commitment to eradicate polio from the Third World. That incredible goal has almost been achieved.
Follow-up concerts have been held at the theatre including one last year which raised £7,000 for Age Concern and Hospice in The Weald. Each year many thousands of pounds are distributed by members who dedicate time and physical effort.
Westerham Rotary Club was formed in 1961 following considerable ground work by Sevenoaks members. The charter president was local bank manager Harry Veevers and Sir Winston Churchill, then 86, accepted an invitation to become an honorary member.
Today the Churchill connection continues with an annual dinner in memory of Westerham’s most distinguished former member. The first Churchill Dinner was held in 1964 to celebrate the great man’s 90th birthday and has continued without a break with such distinguished speakers as Christopher Soames, Manny Shinwell and Bill Deedes.
Today it attracts more than 170 guests, mostly Rotarians from across the district, and raises thousands of pounds for Rotary Foundation. The speaker last November was Lt Col Sir Michael Willcox, better known as Black Rod, the man responsible for the security of the House of Commons. He told Rotarians that he accepted the job, not because of the fabulous salary or the grace and favour apartment but because it gave him an opportunity to wear silk stockings and shoes with buckles!
In 1977 membership of the Sevenoaks Rotary Club had reached an all-time high and a decision was made to form an evening club in the Sevenoaks area. After various successful meetings in individual homes the inauguration meeting of Amherst Rotary Club took place in May 1978 followed by a charter night attended by 240 guests.
Harvey Vallis, a solicitor, was the first president followed by Ken Veryard and Alan Stevens. The first council members were Geoff Brown, Tony Kemp, Keith Cotton, Roy Thomas, Bill Jones and John Hills.
During its 26 years Amherst, like Sevenoaks and Westerham, has raised thousands of pounds for local causes and has taken on challenges both home and abroad. In recent years, for example, Amherst has equipped a local school with a computer suite, restored a nature pond, organised an outing by rail for disabled and disadvantaged children, supported a charity in aid of the children of Chernobyl and arranged a sponsored cyle ride for Marie Curie. All this with less than 40 members.
All three clubs are on the look out for a younger and more diverse membership. The president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) Gordon McNally is 46 and in this centennial year he is championing causes that he hopes "will appeal to the Live Aid generation".
Alan Waters, Gordon Johnston and Paul Leslie are the respective presidents of Sevenoaks, Amherst and Westerham and Biggin Hill. As they plan their centenary activities the clubs are launching friendly recruitment drives and an advertising campaign that will be used to publicise Rotary at all events.
Adventure in service
In September 2003 we celebrated our 25th anniversary. Harvey Vallis, our founding president and president during our 25th anniversary, remembers the founding of the club.
In the summer of 1977, after some animated debate within the Sevenoaks Rotary Club, it was decided to set about the formation of an evening Rotary Club for the Sevenoaks area. President Roy Dickens, Vice President Jim Davis, and Rotarian Ken Rogers were deputed for the task which involved attending every meeting of the formation group up to Charter. They enlisted the services of Past District Governor Henry Robinson (Tenterden Club), the District Extension Officer. The very first meeting at which minutes were taken took place on 26th October 1977 when the objects and obligations of Rotary were explained to Ken Veryard and Alan Stevens both of whom “signed up”. The next meeting was arranged for the home of Ken Veryard in Riverhead, to which Harvey Vallis was also invited. This took place on the 16th November, a very frosty evening and was followed a further meeting on when Harold Towle was introduced. These were the first of very many weekly journeys that Henry Robinson was to make from his home at Sutton Valence to chair the meetings of the “Provisional Formation Committee”.
Sadly Henry is no longer with us. He was then already in his early seventies, partly retired from his place at the head of a family company making jubilee clips. He was a true gentleman having particular wisdom and intellect. He could be a stern disciplinarian when necessary but always with a ready sense of humour. Together with his wife Mary he exemplified the ideals of Rotary and was totally committed to extension of its opportunities to others.
After the first three meetings in individual homes the search was on for a venue. The Bucks Head, Godden Green was chosen for the meeting on 4th January 1978, where sandwiches were laid on. Meetings then continued there every Wednesday evening at 8.00 pm. Numbers quickly grew. They nearly reduced again one ferocious winter’s evening when the first few members to arrive were surprised that so few of the others had turned up by 8 o’clock. It turned out that a huge tree had fallen across, and completely blocked, the road to the pub. Thankfully nobody was hit by, or ran into it.
The early meetings were dominated by the process of locating new members. The process involved “opening” 2 or 3 occupational “classifications” and nominating a member to locate and invite a visitor within that classification. If nobody could be located in that classification within two weeks then the classification would be “closed and another opened. Any visitor who was interested had the objects and obligations of Rotary explained to them and were given the opportunity to sign up joining forms. As matters progressed Henry and the Sevenoaks Rotarians arranged weekly presentations, often by visiting District officers and Rotarians.
Before long Henry decided that there was sufficient commitment for him to invite the District Governor Wilf Hammond to a special introduction meeting that was arranged at Knole Park Golf Club on the 1st March. This was the first meeting with a full meal (£3.50 per head). So it was that members received their first District Governor’s pep talk. Wilf had a great passion for Rotary, he did a good job and nobody was put off!
Having outgrown the facilities at the Bucks Head meetings were switched to the Camden Arms and then from the 12th April 1978 to St Julians, Sevenoaks where meals were arranged in place of the sandwiches.
At the meeting on 19th April there was a ballot and Harvey Vallis was elected “Interim” President, with Harold Towle Secretary. On the 26th April Alan Stevens was elected the first treasurer Treasurer.
The Formation process involved the holding of a meeting at which the “Interim Club” was to be inaugurated. Then there was to follow a period of development before the granting of the Rotary Charter and its presentation at “Charter Night”. Prior to inauguration further elections were held at St Julians. Ken Veryard was voted in as Vice President and the first council members were Colin Woodman as assistant secretary/treasurer, Geoff Brown, Tony Kemp, Keith Cotton, Roy Thomas, Bill Jones, and John Hills.
The Inauguration Meeting took place at The Spinning Wheel, Westerham on the 24th May 1978. Wilf Hammond took the chair. The elections of officers were ratified and various formation documents authorised for signature. The significance of inauguration was that Henry Robinson ceased to be in charge, he continued as adviser but control of the club passed to its members. A further benefit, much appreciated, was that the club could invite speakers to talk on subjects other than Rotary, though this remained the predominant topic.
Rotary International accepted satisfactory completion of all procedures and the Charter, signed by Clem Renoux, President of RI and Geoffrey Pike, President of RIBI, was issued on the 17th August 1978 from Evanston. The Charter Night was arranged for Saturday the 13th September 1978 when, in the presence of 240 Rotarians plus guests, Amherst Rotary Club was presented with its charter by District Governor Percy Hodge. Each of the 26 founder members received their Rotary Badges from Geoffrey Pike. One of the speakers was Lee Myers, President of the Rotary Club of Amherst Ohio, who had travelled over with his wife Kathy to encourage international contact. The Club received a substantial number of generous gifts from other clubs and individual Rotarians. There was also one gift given by the club, to Henry Robinson, a glass goblet engraved at St Julians, in gratitude for all his energy and commitment.
So Amherst became the “baby” of District 112 (now 1120). A fact that was recognised by President Ray Kitching and several members of the North Downs Club who appeared during the dinner in clerical and medical garb, and proceeded to christen the “baby” with due ceremony.
Issue number 3 of the Newsletter for October 1978 began “Well, at last, after what seems to have been an interminable period of deliberation and preparation, we have become a full Rotary Club.”
The Rotary
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