Founded 1916; R.I.B.I. Club No. 13
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"...one of England's best..."
The 1934 private journal of Paul Harris, Founder of Rotary, records his visit to the Rotary Club of Leicester, saying:
"The next item on the agenda was to take train for Leicester where I was to address a noon day meeting, and then go to Nottingham to speak at a big inter-city meeting, sponsored by Fred Gray, the candidate for the presidency of R. I B.I.
"Twenty miles short of Leicester, I was met by Percy Groves, the president of the Leicester club — one of England’s best — and Mrs. Groves who drove us to Leicester by way of Melton Mowbray, famous in two respects, first because the Prince of Wales hunts there, and second because of the fact that it is the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie. Oh yes, it was something more, a gem of an English village set in charming hills.
"I had never seen Percy before, but felt that I knew him, he had written me so many
interesting letters. On arrival in Leicester, we drove straight to the Groves home in a
suburb which seemed very American in character.
"The best place to meet an Englishman and his lady is in their home with one’s
feet planted under their table. We sat and ate dishes of which I had heard, but never
tasted before, while a serious-minded but friendly Scotch terrier looked on approvingly.
The evening was all too brief. At an early hour I tucked myself into bed in a comfortable
guest room, alongside my friend, the hot water bottle, and had scarcely turned over when
the maid entered my room with a tray full of good things. This made two breakfasts in bed
in a row. Was I to become an addict to this alluring habit?
"At the noon day gathering it gave me great pleasure to meet at last my friend by
correspondence, Mr. Ebenezer Hancock, the author of the booklet entitled, “Keeping
Young Past Eighty.” I had been his best customer and had given to friends, in need of
a boost, many copies. Ebenezer is eighty-four and knows whereof he writes. May your
fruitful life continue until you can write authoritatively, “Keeping young past one
hundred.” Only sixteen years yet to go, Ebenezer — Success to you!
"By request, I spoke on “The American Experiment,” instead of on tolerance,
in its bearing on our sixth object, and reserved the latter for the evening meeting at
Nottingham. Personally, I am inclined to believe that Nottingham got the best of it, but
quite a party of Leicester Rotarians accompanied me to Nottingham."
[Note: the "noon day gathering" was the regular weekly luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Leicester, held in the Oriental Hall, Market Place, Leicester, on Monday 9th April 1934, with the President Rotarian Percy A. Groves in the chair]
From: "A Visit to Great Britain and South Africa 1934". [Full text transcript of the private journal of Paul Harris]: available online at http://rotaryhistoryfellowship.org/library/southafrica1934/
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