Rotary District 1180
THE DISTRICT 1180 HISTORY
Prepared by the district and not verified by Rotary Global History
District 1180
Rotary duly arrived in Great Britain and Ireland beginning on the 22nd February 1911, when the Rotary Club of Dublin became the first to form outside of the North American continent. On the 24th July 1911 the first meeting of the Rotary Club of Belfast took place and the first meeting of the Rotary Club of London, the fiftieth club to be formed, took place on the 3rd August 1911, although it was not formally chartered until 1st August 1912. The end of 1911 saw the formation of the Rotary Club of Manchester.
The oldest club in the present district is Liverpool #80
At the 1912 Convention in Duluth, the International Association of Rotary Clubs (IARC) was formed for the purpose of encompassing those Rotary Clubs outside the USA. June 1912 saw the beginnings of the Rotary Club of Glasgow and in September of the same year the Rotary Club of Edinburgh was formed.
In 1913 Rotary Clubs started in Brighton and Hove, Liverpool and Birmingham but sadly the extension of Rotary throughout the British Isles was hampered in 1914 by the outbreak of the First World War.
A meeting of the seven British Clubs took place in Liverpool on the 30th October 1913 and was followed by a second meeting on the 4th May 1914 in London. At this second meeting it was agreed that there would be a British Association of Rotary Clubs (BARC) with its own constitution. At the 1914 Convention in Houston, BARC was recognized by the International Association of Rotary Clubs (IARC) as a necessary and desirable institution for the extension of Rotary. BARC therefore became legitimate, with its own officers and constitution but BARC agreed to be affiliated to IARC and pay fees to them.
1915 saw the publication of the first issue of ‘The Rotary Wheel’, BARC’s own magazine. In the same year, all the Rotary Clubs that then existed worldwide were formed into 19 Districts, with District 19 covering the whole of the British Isles and the first District Chairmen were appointed.
BARC continued to extend Rotary throughout the British Isles and by 1921 over 50 Clubs were in existence. During 1921 there was much discussion about BARC and its constitution which eventually led, in 1922, to the creation of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland abbreviated to RIBI.
The present District 18 was originally part of the old BARC District 5, which covered a large part of N W England, the Marches and North Wales.
During the Rotary Year 1934-35 District 18 was formed comprising of 17 Clubs with a total of 689 members.
Its area included North Wales, West Lancashire and West Cheshire and parts of Shropshire. The first District Chairman of District 18 to be appointed was Rotarian W E Tyson, a member of the Rotary Club of Liverpool.
The original 17 clubs were:
Club and Date Chartered Liverpool 1st August 1913 Chester 1st February 1922 Southport 13th December 1922 Rhyl 7th May 1926 Llandudno 30th March 1927 Colwyn Bay 20th May 1927 Pwllheli 28th July 1927 Prestatyn 23rd September 1927 Denbigh 2nd February 1928 Wallasey 2nd November1928 Wrexham 31st December 1928 Birkenhead 13th February 1929 Bootle & Litherland 28th February 1929 (dissolved in 1998) Oswestry 7th August 1929 Royal Town of Caernarfon 15th September 1931 Hoylake & West Kirby 10th June 1932 Bangor 15th July 1932
In the Rotary Year 1956-57 District 118 was formed and the present geographical limits were set. There were at the time of its formation 32 clubs in the new District.
Eventually in the Rotary Year 1990-91 the District was renumbered to 1180 to conform with the RI numbering system and has remained thus ever since.
District 1180 has currently, in this Centennial Year, 61 clubs with a membership of just under 2000 Rotarians.
See the Family Tree of District 1180 (compiled by Rtn. Len J. Ellison)
John Astles January 2005
Books and other writing by Paul Harris
SOURCE http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/districts/districts/1180.htm
