Memories of 80 years of Rotary in Paddington 1924-2004 “Service Above Self”

At the end of 1923, two men active in Rotary, Mr W.L. Threlford (later a Sheriff of the City of London ) and Arthur Barrett (Mayor of Paddington in 1942-44 and 1949-50) visited the Mayor of the Borough of Paddington, Alderman (later Sir Harold) Kenyon. As a result of this meeting the Rotary club of Paddington and St Marylebone was born.

The inaugural meeting took place on the 9th October 1924. The presentation of the Charter a little later, was described by Sir Harold, Founder President, as a “wonderful occasion and one long to be remembered by those who were privileged to be present”.

Within its first year the membership rose to 49 members and amongst the many projects undertaken by those early founders was the helping St Mary’s Hospital and the Paddington Tuberculosis Dispensary. In 1928, the Club generously helped the Lord Mayor’s Fund for Distressed Miners. Later, the Club supported the ‘Spend For Employment’ Campaign to aid full employment. The Club also gave prominence to International Service and supported the League of Nations .

In 1947, it was decided to split the Club in two and a new Rotary Club was formed in St Marylebone. Paddington retained the original Charter and the first President of the Paddington Rotary Club was Sir Harold Kenyon, who played the leading role in the founding of the original club of Paddington and St Marylebone in 1924.

The Club has continued to play a leading role in the local community, supporting the Portobello Trust, the Allstars Boxing Club, Pimlico Puffins, St Thomas’ Primary School, Hampden Gurney Primary School, Beauchamp Lodge Settlement, Stroke Awareness Assoc., Assoc. of Children’s Hospices, Kensington Housing Trust, the TB Unit at St Mary’s, Victim Support Westminster, Age Concern to name only a few. Overseas, we have supported Rotaract projects in Malawi , Uganda , Tanzania, and a water project in the Ivory Coast , School Aid in South Africa , the Jaipur Limb Project. We have sent Aquaboxes to Iran and to Darfur , Sudan , and Wheelchairs for Students in the Ivory Coast . Again, these are a selection of the many projects that our Club has supported in recent months. Each year we welcome and support a visiting overseas Rotary Ambassadorial Student.

Other Club achievements are the winning of the Millennium Cup in 2004 for the most improved Club. We have grown our membership by 25%, and the membership stands at 24 members. Several members have made bequests and are leaving money for Rotary Foundation. Unique amongst institutions, Rotary uses all the donations received for its good work; none is used for administration or overhead costs.

Rotary International has led the 20-year fight against polio worldwide. It is hoped to announce the elimination of polio in 2005. Paddington has made a considerable contribution to this effort over the years.

We are proud of our Club’s achievements, and we continue to put service to others before ourselves and hope to achieve even more in the next 20 years as we move towards our Club’s Centenary.