History of Pinner Rotary - 1943 to 1969
1943
The Rotary Club of Pinner was conceived when the Extension Committee of the Harrow Club discussed with a few enthusiastic businessmen the possibility of forming a Rotary Club in Pinner. What could be regarded as the christening of the Club took place at the Gayton Rooms, Harrow, on Wednesday l7th May 1944 when the Club, now 26 members strong, was presented with its charter. During the war the Club was active in connection with comfort and help for prisoners of war and the entertainment of foreign and other military personnel at luncheon meetings.
1944
A dance and cabaret raised £160 which was given to the British Red Cross and St John Fund. The Red Cross Prisoner of War Fund and the Merchant Navy Comforts Fund benefited by £513, the profit from a White Elephane sale.
1945
Clothing was collected for the Help Holland Fund and a dance was organised in aid of the Pinner War Memorial Fund.1946
The Club contributed to the Pinner War Memorial Fund and raised money in aid of Merchant Navy Week.1947
A dance raised £61 for the Pinner War Memorial Fund.
1948
A new Club Bulletin was produced. Also during the year, a cup, donated by one of our members, was presented to Pinnerwood School for their Annual Sports Day, to be competed for annually and replicas to be given each year. The Club also became involved in the entertainment of the elderly at Blythwood House.
1949
The success of a dance enabled the Club to put £67 towards the cost of a television for Blythwood House. The elderly people living there had been bombed out of their homes in London during the war.
1950
The International Committee invited schools to submit essays on the "Charter of Human Rights" as dealt with in a booklet "The Gateway to Freedom". A booklet containing the first three prize-winning essays was printed and a copy given to each competitor and each member of the Club. The United Nations Broadcasting Transmitter broadcast extracts from the essays.
1951
Events included a firework party for the handicapped boys of St Michael's School, Pinner; a Christmas Tree for the children's ward at Mount Vernon Hospital and the presentation of a television to the elderly at Pinner House.
1952
An association was started with the Rotary Club of Hilo, Hawaii and a Rotary Foundation Fellow visited our Club from that town.
1953
To celebrate the Coronation, a seat was provided for old people on a local site.
1954
The Vocational Service Committee presented a cup to Blackwell Secondary Modern School for an annual competition in public speaking.
1955
A special luncheon was held on 17th May in celebration of the Golden Jubilee Year of Rotary International. Officers of the Royal Air Force and United States Air Force were invited guests and Rotarians from Harrow, Wembley, Edgware, Greenford and Watford Clubs were also present. The speaker, Mr Peter Masefield, Chief Executive of British European Airways, made the journey by helicopter.
1956
This was an historic year for the Club in the award of a Rotary Foundation Fellowship for advanced study for the academic year 1956-57 to our nominee, Barry John Moughton, who went to McGill University in Canada to study Law.
1958
The International Service Committee were successful in the nomination of Ian Mclntosh who was granted the Rotary Foundation Fellowship for London (District 113) for the year 1958-59, and went to Louisville, Kentucky where the Rotary Club has a membership of about 500.
1959
The first Christmas party arranged by the Community Service Committee raised £127 for the Services Account.
1960
The Pinner Methodist Church Junior team, sponsored by the Club, won the District 113 Youth Speaks competition.
1961
The Club 'adopted' a ten-year-old boy, Antakil, from the Margi tribe in Northern Nigeria. He was suffering from tuberculoid leprosy, and was in the Garkida Leprosarium for a two-year stay to cure his disease.
1962
In May, 12 members made the first Club visit overseas by flying on a day visit to the Jersey Club.
1963
The first senior citizens luncheon was held when retired gentlemen were invited to join us for our meeting.
1964
Our twenty-first Anniversary Dinner at the Headstone Hotel was attended by over one hundred Rotarians.
1965
A visit was made to Cowes, I.o.W.
1966
Students from District 220, Zambia, were entertained.
1967
The first evening 'Assembly' was held at the Headstone Hotel.
1968
The first truly International visit 'across the water' was made when some members visited the Rotary Club of Amsterdam during a short tour of Holland. This year also saw the realisation of our twenty-first anniversary celebration projects in the presentation of an ambulance to the Harrow Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade and an all purpose sailing dinghy to the Pinner and Hatch End Sea Cadet Unit.
1969
This year saw the creation of the Walter Millard Award. Walter, a recently deceased member, was a blind physiotherapist at Mount Vernon Hospital and the award was to be given to the year's best student nurse there.
