The Beginnings

The   club   began   as   an   idea   in   June   1961   following   an   unsuccessful   attempt   some   years   earlier   (when   the   prime   move   had   to   move   away from   the   area).     It   was   important   from   the   start   to   find   a   "mother"   club   to   sponsor   and   encourage   this   new   venture   and   this   was   achieved through   the   good   offices   of   the   Rotary   Club   of   Cambridge,   and   it   was   Rotarian   Bill   Warren   of   that   club   who   did   a   great   deal   of   the   "hand- holding" in the early days in liaison with Mr Derek Walker of Royston, one of the founder members. Granting of Charter The   newly   formed   Royston   club   was   given   the   status   of   "Interim   club"   until   a   critical   mass   of   members   had   been   achieved,   and   a   charter was   approved   by   Rotary   International   by   the   President   of   R.I.,   Mr.   Joseph A. Abey   on   23rd   March   1962.   The   club   started   with   31   members. The   charter   was   subsequently   presented   to   the   Founder   President   of   the   Club,   Mr   Peter   Limbach,   on   18th   May   1962   at   a   dinner   held   at the   University   Arms   Hotel,   Cambridge.     A   toast   to   the   new   Club was   made   by   Rotarian   Bill   Warren,   a   member   of   the   Cambridge Club   (Royston's   "mother"   Club)   and   a   past   District   Chairman.   (click to enlarge photo) A   reading   desk   was   presented   to   the   new   club   by   the   Cambridge club which is still used to this day. The   picture   at   the   RH   side   shows   the   presentation   which   was made   at   the   dinner   by   Rotarian   C.N.   Burgess   of   the   Sudbury Club   (shown   on   right)   who   was   the   Chairman   of   R.I.   District   8 (equivalent   to   the   District   Governor   of   present   days).     The   other person   in   the   left   of   the   photo   was   Right   Rev.   Tom   H.   Cashmore, Bishop   of   Dunwich,   a   Past   President   of   R.I.B.I   ,   a   past   member of   the   board   of   R.I. and   was   the   honoured   guest   at   the   dinner   to welcome the new club to the Rotary Family. Founder Members The   photo   below   is   the   earliest   record   record   we   have   of   the founder   members   of   the   Club   which   was   taken   in   early   March 1963. They are named below:

Silver Jubilee Celebrations 2012

The   Club   held   a   Silver   Jubilee   Celebration   on   18th   May   2012   at   a   dinner   at   Homerton   College   Cambridge.     Special   guest   was   Royston's MP   Mr   (now   Sir)   Oliver   Heald     and   was   also   attended   by   Annemarie   Harte,   Chief   Executive   of   Rotary   International   of   Great   Britain   and Northern   Ireland   (R.I.B.I.)   and   also   Rotarian Tom   Griffin,   the   District   Governor.     More   than   100   Rotarians   and   guests   attended   which   was   on the   exact   date   the   Club   was   formed   50   year's   ago.     Mr   Heald   observed   that   there   had   been   some   marvellous   characters   belonging   to Rotary   who   had   helped   shape   the   Club.     "The   members   today   are   what   we   can   call   the   great   and   the   good   of   the   community   for   the   work being   done   not   just   locally   but   on   an   international   scale   too"   he   said.     As   an   example,   Mr   Heald   highlighted   Rotary's   Shelter   Box   Scheme which   was   currently   providing   for   people   in   Pakistan   in   desperate   need.     "There   was,   too"   he   said,   "the   commitment   to   the   community   with Rotary   being   involved   with   fundraising   many   charities".     In   his   response,   the   current   President   of   the   Club,   Neil   Heywood,   said   that   during the past year the Club had helped 26 different charities and had raised more than £17,000 from its various activities. The   Club   also   decided   to   mark   the   Jubilee   Year   by   the   presentation   of   a   flagpole   to   the   people   of   Royston,   to   be   erected   in   the   Priory Gardens   of   the   town.     This   was   formally   presented   to   the   Town   by   the   (then)   Club   President,   Chris   Hardy,   in   the   presence   of   Mr   (now   Sir) Oliver   Heald   MP   and   Councillor   Lindsay   Davidson,   the   Mayor   of   Royston.     Speaking   before   the   unveiling,   Chris   said:   “When   we   started talking   about   our   50th   year   we   wanted   to   ensure   that   part   of   our   anniversary   was   to   provide   something   for   the   community.     “We   had   a number   of   ideas,   but   in   the   end   the   provision   of   a   community   flag   pole   seemed   to   be   the   most   practical   and   workable.”     He   stressed:   “This is   a   community   flag   pole   and   that   means   any   club   or   group   in   our   town   will   have   the   opportunity   to   fly   its   own   flag   to   mark   an   event   or occasion.”   Chris   continued   that   the   project   would   not   have   been   completed   without   the   help   of   Rotary   members   and   the   generous   support of   the   Brian   Leslie   Racher   Charity   Trust,   Councillor   Fiona   Hill   from   her   County   Council   locality   budget   and   a   grant   from   the   Royston   area committee   of   North   Herts   District   Council.     Rotary   will   work   with   Royston   Town   Council   to   ensure   there   is   a   turn-over   in   flags   being displayed   and   will   also   recognise   national   events   with   the   hoisting   of   the   Union   flag.     Just   before   the   end   of   the   ceremony   a   town   crest   flag donated by Rotary was presented to the town council.

Alfie Deards

Please click here to read about Alfie Deards and his contribution to the Royston Rotary club

List of Past Presidents

Back Row (L to R) John   Pigg,   Peter   Mills, Albert   Read,   Harold   Richmond,   Sam   Wilkinson,   R   Candler,     Don   Humphris,   Ivan Wickstead Middle Row (L to R) Bob   Logsdon,   Bill   Darling,   Chris   Paice,   Geoff   Snell,   Hubert   Stearn,   Roy   Haywood,   Jeff   Gray,     Roy Cowell Front Row (L to R) "Peri"   Peregrine, Arthur   White,   Norman   Northgraves,   Derek   Walker,   Peter   Limbach,   Ian   Milne,   Edward Devonshire, George Haddock, Richard Cox