Rotary in Glossop from 1938.

To the Glossopian of the year 2007, the town itself is not really much different from the town of 68 years ago. Many of the mills have gone but the Town Hall still stands facing 'The Square', and in the High Street some of the old shops still retain their places. Only when one looks out to the edges, to the 'new' estates of Whitfield, Gamesley, Simmondley, The Heath, and Shirebrook that one can see how and why Glossop has changed.

When, in January 1938, the Vicar of Glossop, Canon Edmond, and a few local businessmen met to form the Rotary Club, they brought together a group of some thirty members who without exception were dependant on the townsfolk for their living. They were shopkeepers, merchants, manufacturers, and professional men and they all could, and many did, walk from their homes to their place of work. Today less than a quarter of the members work in Glossop, and more than four fifths now live in houses built on the open fields of 1938.The minutes of the early meetings show the Club to have been mainly concerned with local issues. Whilst the world trembled on the brink of the Second World War, the members were discussing the merits of Nursery Schools, founding the 'Old Mens Corner' and selling tickets for the Cinderella Fund Dance ... at three shillings (15p) each. Care for the elderly, handicapped and socially deprived are as much at the heart of Rotary Service now as they were then, but today our community extends far beyond the Town boundaries out to the deserts of Africa, the wetlands of Bangladesh, the hills of India.

The earliest note that can be found on International matters refers to the plight of refugees from Nazi Germany in the last months of peace. Today war's in Eastern Europe means that refugees are in the news again. The need for a friendly understanding welcome has not changed.

Our motto of "Service Above Self" has been faithfully kept over the years, but with occasional self-indulgence. As on the occasion of the first anniversary of the granting of the Club's charter, which was celebrated with a potato pie supper at the Co-op Cafe, at a cost of 3/6d per person.

The foundation of Glossop Rotary Club is still celebrated annually at Charter Night. This formal dinner is attended by the District Governor. Guests include the Mayor of the High Peak and representatives of other service organisations, our friends and ex-members. Charter Night is seen as a recommitment of the place of Rotary in the Town, District, and Internationall

The Club also holds each year an annual formal Presidents Night, towards the end of the Rotary year Members and their wives honor the hard work that the President and his wife have undertaken through the year.

Glossop Round Table is recognised by the Rotary Club to be an active service Club in the town An annual joint meeting is held alternately at the Rotary and Round Table venues This meeting is always characterised by a high level of conviviality and banter,

Many service organisations have existed in the town for a long period, and it was in this context that our club was sponsored by Ashton-under-Lyne Club in 1938. Over the years the Club has changed with the times. One of the most important changes was the gradual move to become an all evening meeting Club, in 1984, reflecting the increasing number of members living in the town but working in the Greater Manchester conurbation, The change to evening meetings has resulted in a high level of attendance at Club meetings, averaging 75 %. Evening meetings give more time for Club business, the speaker, and for fellowship between members and guests.

The photgraph below is that of Charter Night in 1938.

Past Club presidents.

1938-39 F J Edmund
1939-40 E J Allen
1940-41 E J Allen
1941-42 H G H Harrop
1942-43 C J Casey
1943-44 C J Casey
1944-45 H Higginbottom
1945-46 G D McKinley
1946-47 H H Marshall
1947-48 E O Benson
1948-49 C Holliday
1949-50 E J Allan
1950-51 F G Ellis
1951-52 N S Morgan
1953-54 F Pickup
1954-55 J Bowyer
1955-56 E Cohen
1956-57 J Orme
1957-58 F Taylor
1958-59 W Pell
1959-60 C Coggin
1960-61 W G Gregory
1961-62 D R Googwright
1962-63 W H Jones
1963-64 H H Rogers
1964-65 A Middleton
1965-66 L T Mundy
1966-67 L M Barnett
1967-68 F P Higton
1968-69 R H L Massey
1969-70 R H Allan
1970-71 F Dearnley
1971-72 P W Wood
1972-73 A Armour
1973-74 R A Padley
1974-75 H Green
1975-76 E Hannan
1976-77 E L Bennett
1977-78 C Storah
1978-79 M H Thompson
1979-80 N Linney
1980-81 R Baines
1981-82 D Braddock
1982-83 R Gibson
1983-84 K Whiting
1984-85 J Pollock
1985-86 T Richardson
1986-87 P Hampson
1987-88 R Clough
1988-89 P Wood
1989-90 F Ballington
1990-91 T W Mather
1991-92 B Powney
1992-93 W Wheeler
1993-94 C Storah
1994-95 B Kennedy
1995-96 B Thorpe
1996-97 T Bell
1997-98 C T O'Brien
1998-99 R Bowden
1999-00 D Scott
2000-01 A M Wright
2001-02 Alex McLaren
2002-03 K Whiting
2003-04 J Burgess
2004-05 T Bond
2005-06 R Bowden
2006-07 D Scott