Club History
founded in 1990
1995 – Wessex Heartbeat
In 1995 we took part in a Rotary District initiative, Wessex Heartbeat, to provide an M.R.I. Scanner and other improvements for Southampton General Hospital. Going one better through the vision of a member, this Club led our Rotary District clubs to also provide “Rotary Heartbeat House”, a home close to the hospital dedicated to housing the parents of desperately ill children in their paediatric units.
2003 – First Walk the Test Way
Walk the Test Way started in October 2003 and has grown steadily ever since to become the major event in our calendar. Planning of each event takes a full year but provides major benefits for many charities and a source of funds for the Club’s charitable work.
2013 – Business Partners
In 2013 we launched our Business Partners scheme to recognize the help we receive from local companies by giving financial and “in kind” support to our events.
1990 – The Club is Formed
Our club was formed in 1990 and was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Romsey, a lunch-time club that continues to meet in Romsey on Tuesdays. We have always met on Wednesday evenings, originally at the Abbey Hotel but since 2014 in Romsey Town Hall. Our membership has grown steadily and in 2015/16 stood at just under 60. The present activities are outlined on this web site and tend to follow an annual cycle but other past major projects are noteworthy.
1998 – Romsey Hospital
During the Romsey Hospital Appeal in 1998-2000 we raised over £30,000 to provide a canopy to the entrance of the hospital so that patients could be transferred from the ambulance without having to contend with the vagaries of our English weather. The professional expertise and time of our members was given to this project. This facility was provided at a cost of £110,000 and continues to be as invaluable to parents today as it was when it was first built.
2009 – Re-Cycle
Further afield in the early 2000s we provided funding to refurbish the kitchens, provide lighting thin the childrens’ ward and to build a new laundry at St Joseph’s Hospital in Kitovu, Uganda. In 2009/10 we ran a project with a charity called Re-Cycle, and collected sent 400 secondhand but usable bicycles to Africa where they were refurbished and provided valuable, low cost transport. Our partnership with Dentaid is one focus of our recent overseas charitable work.
2016 – Romsey School
And finally, in 2016 the senior team from Romsey School, sponsored by our club came third in the national final of the Rotary Youth Speaks public speaking competition.
2021 Walk the Test Way
Reached a staggering 1 million pounds raised for charity!!
Our Club’s logo linking Rotary with the River Test that flows through Romsey
Past Presidents
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1990-1 Gordon Rogers
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1991-2 Paul Hampton
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1992-3 Jeff Holloway
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1993-4 Peter Harrison
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1994-5 Paul Hockey
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1995-6 Rory Blair
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1996-7 Neil Crick
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1997-8 David Bloomfield
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1998-9 Nick Lockyer
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1999-0 John Burgess
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2000-1 Greg Hall
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2001-2 Tony Abbott
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2002-3 Mike Gratton
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2003-4 Peter Stuckey
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2004-5 Paul Grainger
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2005-6 Michael Baker
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2006-7 Jim Purdie
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2007-8 David Bonnor-Moris
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2008-9 Mike Thorne
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2009-10 Graham Lee
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2010-11 Martin Russell
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2011-12 David Sillence
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2012-13 John Gould
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2013-14 Keith Cameron
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2014-15 Gren Lamb-Hughes
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2015-16 Neil Duncan
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2016-17 Tony Trowsdale
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2017-18 Jon Livingstone
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2018-19 Stuart Wineberg
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2019-20 Bill Gidley
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2020-21 Bryan Rickett
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2021-22 Roger Shepherd