The social highlight of each
year for most Rotary Clubs is usually their Charter Anniversary Dinner. This celebrates the Rotary Club receiving its 'Charter' and being formally recognised as a Club by Rotary International. Yesterday I met with Peter Pickering, Neil
South and Colin Worthington to plan the formalities of the Charter Dinner
Anniversary being held in my year of office.
Preparations really began a
couple of years ago when I read a fantastic book entitled ‘Can We Have Our Ball
Back, Please?’ (which was later voted ‘Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year’)
This is Google’s review of
said book:
CAN WE HAVE OUR
BALL BACK, PLEASE? is the highly entertaining story of how the British invented
sport as we know it today (and then almost forgot how to play it). Long before
Drake refused to interrupt his game of bowls when the Armada was sighted, the British
have had a passionate relationship with games. Here Julian Norridge explores
how those games became major sports like boxing, cricket, horse racing and
hockey. Their stories cover the whole of Britain - from Welsh-born inventor and
tobacco enthusiast Major Walter Clopton Wingfield coming up with a game
involving new-fangled rubber balls (lawn tennis), to an apocryphal English
football match using severed Viking head as a ball, to Scottish shepherds
inventing golf more than 700 years ago. But this is far more than a book about
sport, it also takes a very funny, very British look at our popular history and
mythology. Full of tales of hunting parsons, prize-fighting ex-slaves, corrupt
princes and cuckolded husbands, this is sporting life in all its eccentricity.
It chronicles the constant battle between fair play and gambling; between
amateurism and professionalism; and between advances in the dame and plain
cheating (such as turning up with a cricket bat wider than the wicket). Can We
Have Our Balls Back Please? proves that there is an awful lot to be proud of in
our history, it suggest where our strange feeling of superiority really comes
from and it shows why we are always disappointed when we lost, but rarely
surprised.
Coincidently just after I
read this book the author, Julian Norridge, placed an advert in the Rotary
Magazine offering his services as an after-dinner speaker. I saw this as an inspiration opportunity and
made contact with Julian, inviting him to be the guest speaker at our Charter
Dinner being held on Friday 19th October 2012 at the Hostess Restaurant,
Sookholme.
I’m really looking forward to what will be
our 86th Charter Anniversary Dinner and have also enjoyed finding a
report listed below of Hucknall Rotary Club receiving its Charter
From
Hucknall Dispatch – Thursday September 16, 1926
A
MEMORABLE EVENT – Charter Presented to the Hucknall Rotary Club
Wednesday evening, September 15, 1926 marked
another epoch in the history of Hucknall, for on that day the Rotary Club of
Hucknall (which was instituted on March 2 of this year) received its charter in
the presence of a large company of Rotarians from various parts of No. 7
District, which stretches from Bedford to Lincoln.
The event, which was preceded by a banquet, took place in the
Public Hall, which up to mid-day was in a state of chaos, the electricians then
putting the finishes touches to the electric installation. With a staff of helpers, tables were erected,
cloths spread, the room decorated and all preparations made for the event
. The repost was admirably served by Mrs
Warner, and a pretty touch was given to the scene by the appropriate floral decoration to
Mr W Williamson - blue and gold the
club’s colour, being appropriately arranged on the tables….
At Hucknall there are at present 26 members,
the officers being Mr S. S. Rhodes president, Mr H. Morley vice-president, Mr J
H Busfield treasurer, and Mr W Garland
Spencer secretary.
Needless to say, much preliminary work had to
be done prior to the charter night, and it was pleasing to find that there was
a gratifying response from the various clubs in the district, about 140 being
present. In addition to the Hucknall
officers and members, the company included Rotarian Henry Hyde of Leicester,
chairman of the district, Mrs Hyde, Rotarian Sydney James of Ilkeston,
vice-chairman, Mrs James, the presidents and secretaries of the various clubs,
along with Mr G. A. Spencer, MP for the Broxtowe Division, Mrs Spencer, Mr W.
T. Haslam J.P. chairman of the Urban Council, Mrs Haslam and others.
Astonishing
Progress
Rotarian Hyde, prior to presenting the
charter to President Rhodes, apologised for the absence of the district
secretary, Rotarian G K Russell, owing to the illness of his mother. He regretted that they found themselves still
confronted with an industrial struggle, and that Hucknall was in the midst of
that terrible disaster. He was glad,
however, that on that occasion they were linked up with the Imperial Parliament
and the local Council. The Rotary
movement always welcomed those whom they thought would be interested, even
though at times they might be critics.
The duty he had to perform gave him a great deal of pleasure, because
from that night the Hucknall Club became officially connected with the great
international Rotary movement, the importance of which he trusted they all
realised. There were now under the
government of the Association for Great Britain and Ireland 221 clubs with
12,000 members. When he mentioned that
in 1918 there were only eight clubs in this country, they would realise the
rapid development which had taken place.
He wished them to form some idea in their minds as to the underlying
influence of that great movement, which had made wonderful expansion during
recent years. In Rotary International
there were now 2,400 clubs and 122,000 members operating in 35 countries.
A
Club’s Responsibilities.
Addressing the President and officers of the
Hucknall Club, Rotarian Hyde said they were vested with a great
responsibility. Being a young movement,
they had no tradition but they were making them. Their club had no history but it would make
history from that night. He beseeched
the members to be very careful in making that history. The corner stones were Service, Business
Standards, Fellowship, Peace and Goodwill and he urged them to be careful how
they built upon that foundation. In the
prosecution of those ideals , though they barred any discussions on political
and religious subjects as such, he did not suggest that they should not be
influenced by the spirit of Him Who laid down for them the Golden Rule and Whom
they acknowledged to be the Author of peace and concord. Why had the early members of the Hucknall
Club been selected? Because it was thought
they believed in the six objects of
Rotary, that they were destined to lift their vocation to a higher level, and
to create a brighter outlook on citizenship.
God knew that there was need of it today. The primary object of service above
self. It was by fellowship they found
out what they were and what the other fellow was. There was much sham in the world, and they
desired to get free from the trammels of suspicion. He urged the members to assimilate the
objects of Rotary, and he then believed a great future was before them.
Rotarian Hyde then handed the framed charter
to President S S Rhodes and proposed the toast of the Rotary Club of Hucknall.
President’s
Reply.
Replying President Rhodes first thanked the
visitors, and was pleased to see so many ladies present. The most amazing thing about the gathering
was that 12 months ago there was no thought of Rotary in Hucknall, except
perhaps in the mind of Rotarian Lymm of
Nottingham and his co-conspirators, and
they certainly felt a debt of gratitude to their Nottingham friends for all the
help they had given them, together with the assistance of Vice-chairman
James. As they knew, a good deal of
preliminary work was necessary, and he was pleased to inform them that they had
consolidated the work. They had found
that Rotary inspired each individual member to do his best in life. As president, he could say that inspiration
had been received by some members to do some community service which would not
have been thought of. They were grateful
to Chairman Hyde for his wise words of counsel, and he felt it must be a great
honour to be the president of a Rotary
Club, and especially of the Hucknall Rotary Club because of the
wonderful co-operation shown by every member.
As in the Boys Brigade, great things from little causes spring. As regards the Charter, the President assured
them that they would do their best to live up to the principles it outlined,
and trusted that nothing would occur to necessitate that charter being
returned. In conclusion, he assured them
that he appreciated all the help which had been shown him.
Hucknall’s
Fame
The next toast on the list was that of “The
Visitors and Guests,” proposed by Rotarian H Morley who outlined some of the
features of Hucknall and pointed out that that had been a memorable year. In days gone by Hucknall was regarded a good
place to get away from, but now people flocked hither in thousands to view the
beauties of Titchfield Park, whilst visitors of all nations called at the
historic Church to pay tributes to Lord Byron.
There were few towns which could boast of two royal visits in one year,
but the Duke of York and the King and Queen of Greece had already visited
Hucknall. As a town, they were perhaps
more progressive than any other, and as a Rotary Club more enthusiastic, as was
shown by the fact that since they commenced their apprenticeship in that great
movement, there had been no room for any other club at the top of No. 7
District. Some of their guests – the
non-Rotarians – might wonder why another club in Hucknall, but he assured them
that Rotary was not intended to supplant Christianity, but to supplement
it. He coupled with the toast the name
of Mr G A Spencer, MP and Mrs Spencer, Mr W T
Haslam JP and Mrs Haslam, and the various presidents.
The replies were in nutshell form, seeing
that only brief moments were allowed on account of the length of the
programme. Helpful words were uttered by
Presidents Corbett (Nottingham); Jephson (Ripley), and vice-chairman James.
M.P.
Views
Mr G A Spencer MP replied for the guests, and
commended the movement for the high ideals which had been set forth by the
District Chairman in handing over the charter.
The Rotary ideal was a worthy ideal to strife for and man only obtained
in proportion to his striving. Men were
brought to the front by some ideal – by setting themselves a standard – and in
so far as they had set, from that night and henceforth, these noble and great
ideals before them, he hoped that individually and collectively they would succeed
in attaining them. He felt certain that
if the current of human thought and human activity which had been breathed at
that gathering could enter the current of our everyday life and thought the
antagonism which existed today between nations or between men or between
capital and labour, would be dispelled and the spirit of peace and goodwill
would become a permanent part of our lives.
Rotarian A E Kaye humorously proposed the
toast of “The Ladies” to which Mrs S S Rhodes responded.
During the evening songs were rendered by Mrs
A E Kaye, Mrs W H Allcock and Rotarian H Dobson. Rotarian F W Gray of Nottingham who
accompanied, led the community singing, which was a pleasing feature of the programme, which was carried through without
a hitch at the call of Rotarian J W Sampson, toastmaster.
