A year in the life of Leeds Rotary: 1938

In 1938, life was still going ahead fairly normally though the the impact of a war feared but not yet here was already being felt or reported by Rotarians in Leeds. Some items illustrating this - taken from the monthly reports of Hon Secretary, Charles Davis - are listed below:

• Community service questionnaire about personal (hitherto unknown) contributions
• Entertainment for foreign students at the university at which the countries represented were India, Egypt, Soudan, Greece, Jugoslavia, Canada & Czechoslovakia – two Indian ladies attended (March)
• Disbanding of Rotary Clubs in Austria after country's incorporation into Third Reich
• First “Sons and daughters” day (April)
• Appeal by Dr Morton for a position for Miss Gertrude Lichtmann – a Jewish girl of 15 or 16 in Vienna (second appeal a week later but no outcome reported)
• Running of Birk Crag camp with Harrogate Club (May)
• Overseas students' outing to Fountains Abbey
• Delegation to Rotary International convention in Nice – one party drove there by way of Belgium and France visiting many Rotary Clubs and bringing back many flags!
• Weekly addresses listed including “What is a gentleman?”, “Truth in advertising”, “Trunk roads”, “The Motorist and the Law” and “Nazi Germany”
• Discussion on “Is the modern tendency to develop retail trading through multiple shops a healthy one for the Nation generally?” (June)
• Exchange visit of member's son or daughter with the son of Paul Jouville – a founder member of the Louviere Club in Belgium whose hospitality had previously been enjoyed by several Leeds Club members
• District organising holiday for sons of foreign Rotarians at Ashville College (July)
• Attendance at Stockholm Conference by two members (September)
• Appeal for someone to occasionally take an old lady crippled with rheumatoid arthritis out for a drive
• Leeds Club planning to give a previous, successful demonstration on “The reception of a new member” to forthcoming district conference in Bridlington
• Other speakers to include Rotarian Ernst Ipsen of Denmark who worked for the repatriation of prisoners from Germany after the last war and Phyllis Bentley (to the Inner Wheel)
• Conference (due to start Saturday 30 September) postponed during the week before “in view of the critical international situation”: some men in key positions already detailed to special work and others would want to be at home: conference would have to be broken up immediately if war occurred “on Saturday” and would add to disruption travelling home
• Extracts from matron's monthly reports showing weight gain of children in the holiday camp (October)
• Wreath laid by Club President on Armistice Day (November)
• Situation required for former bank official in Czechoslovakia
• Distress in Czechoslovakia reported and appeal for support for Rotarians and financial support for the people there generally
• Questionnaire to all Leeds Club members about principles of evacuation and billeting in time of war (December)
• Rotary disbanded in Italy from 31 December – last greetings to clubs or members invited in “The Rotary Wheel"

President's Centenary Charity

Leeds United v Borussia Dortmund 1981

On Monday 27th April 1981, Leeds United played Borussia Dortmund from Leeds' twin city in a charity match from which all proceeds went to support the Leeds Children's Holiday Association. Manny Cussins, the Leeds chairman, said that this association "enables thousands of underprivileged children from Leeds to take a holiday every year at Silverdale overlooking Morecambe Bay."

The match was played during "Rotary Week", a national event to commemorate 70 years of Rotary service in the UK. Rotary Club of Leeds and that year's President, G Eric Forster, used the week to raise money for Silverdale - a camp that had succeeded our own camp at Harrogate founded way back in 1924. Leeds Rotary in fact arranged the match and the Leeds & Holbeck Building Society sponsored it. 

The Leeds team included such stars as John Lukic, Brian Greenhof, Terry Connor, Brian Flynn, Paul Hart and Trevor Cherry. The future England goalkeeper, David Seaman, was an unused substitute would you believe and none other than Clive Thomas was the referee. As it happens, Leeds United won 2-0 with Dortmund's Lothar Huber scoring an own goal on 55 minutes and Arthur Graham adding the second five minutes later. 

President's Centenary Charity