A Brief History of Probus
One of the first clubs was formed by the Rotary Club of Welwyn Garden City, 25 miles from London. When a Rotary Club member retired he occasionally used to meet a few other retired friends for morning coffee ‐ mostly ex-commuters to London, with professional and business backgrounds. There were many men in the area with similar backgrounds, again commuters and previously unable to participate in the life of the town. This gave him the idea of starting a luncheon club. The local Rotary Club President arranged the first meeting and 45 men attended. So the first club was born.
This first club was called The Campus Club, and the name was selected from the fact that the meeting place was facing the centre of town called ‘The Campus’.
The Rotary District took up the scheme with the result that Rotary International, Britain and Ireland published a leaflet about the idea to encourage other Rotary Clubs to sponsor a similar club.
At about the same time in September 1965 Harold Blanchard the chairman of Caterham Rotary Club Vocational Service Committee retired from business there and he too saw the need for something for retired business men who did not have the same opportunities or inclination for social contacts in the district due to the hours spent commuting and working out of the area.
The local Rotary Club decided that a club should be set up with a monthly lunch to enable retired business men to meet for fellowship and social activities.
A meeting was arranged in a local hotel in February 1966 and 42 prospective members turned up. A monthly lunch was arranged so that the men could widen their range of acquaintances. At the initial meeting it was agreed to a monthly luncheon, and it was suggested that as individuals were virtual strangers to each other it would be advisable if the Rotary Club President took the chair so that the members of the new club could get to know each other a little before electing their own officers and drawing up simple rules.
The inaugural luncheon of the first PROBUS Club in the United Kingdom therefore took place on the 2nd March 1966 and in May of that year a Committee was formed under the Chairmanship of the late Harold Blanchard (Chairman of the Rotary Club Vocational Service Committee) who is now accepted as the ‘Father Figure’ of Probus.
It was felt that members had suffered too many rules and regulations during their working lives and for this reason very simple Probus Club rules were adopted. The Chairman should serve for one year only and Committee members on average only occupy their posts for two years. This encouraged volunteers to come forward and helped to ensure a continual current of fresh ideas in the club.
Members were asked for suggestions for a name for the club and many names were suggested until one member came up with the idea of PROBUS taking the first three letters from ‘PROfessional and BUSiness’. He assured everyone that Probus was a Latin word from which ‘Probity’ was derived and the new name was adopted with enthusiasm.
The success of the Probus Club of Caterham very soon became known among neighbouring Rotary Clubs and the whole concept being so simple snowballed and new clubs sprang up everywhere.
The Winchester and District Probus Club was set up in 1972 and is one of the oldest Probus Clubs in the district.
As there is no central world body, it is difficult to tell the exact number of Probus clubs in existence, but there well over 2000 clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. There are others in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Malta, South Africa, Spain, USA, Canada, Bermuda and South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, India, Argentina, Chile, and Malaysia.