One of the less well known Rotary Clubs and, indeed, one that was never chartered was the ALLIED ROTARY CLUB OF FRANCE. Before he left the United States for Europe in the later days of world war one, Ancil Brown, the secretary of the Indianapolis RC and auditor for the YMCA, was authorised by the Board of the IARC to arrange regular meetings for Rotarians stationed in Paris or its vicinity.

So it was that a few months before the end of the First World War, on August 23, 1918, the club was launched at an evening meal at the Hotel Continental in Paris. Subsequently, a lunch meeting was held every Thursday at 12.15 at which all Rotarians were welcome. There were to be no fees and the lunch cost was kept to 15 francs. The hotel management had set aside a "capacious and handsomely furnished hall just off the main rotunda" and had designated it 'The Rotary Room'. Dr W. H. Taylor, a distinguished ophthalmologist working with the Red Cross, was the secretary and Ancil Brown the President. Dr Taylor had been one of the organisers and founder secretary of the RC of Mobile, Ala.

(Article at left from Wolfgang Ziegler)
 

A cable to Ches Perry in Chicago from Ancil Brown conveyed greetings from 'The Allied Rotary Club in France' and gave news of the inaugural meeting. It also invited all those "going overseas in the service of the Army or Navy, YMCA, Red Cross, etc" to visit the club and attendance records which reached Chicago in 1920 show that over a hundred Rotarians did so.

Among them were Rotarians General Pershing, William Sharp, the American Ambassador and James Perkins, the American Red Cross Commissioner in Europe.

The Rotary custom of using first names was maintained, replacing military saluting and observance of rank, and the relaxed atmosphere was much appreciated in a time of stress. Meetings continued after the Armistice although Dr Taylor was sent to Poland before returning to Washington D.C. in 1920. Exactly when the last meetings were held is uncertain but by 1921 a proper Rotary Club of Paris had come into existence.

There was one other oddity about this club. A report about the Allied Rotary Club in the 'The New York Herald' for August 28, 1918 read: "There are more than 12.000 sons of Rotarians in service in France, and it is hoped to reach these, and the daughters too, so as to render any counsel or help that may be necessary. To this end all such sons and daughters are requested to write to the secretary, Dr Taylor, giving the name of their father and that of the Rotarian Club to which he belongs in the US, Canada, or Great Britain." Wives of Rotarians do not seem to have been included!

Basil Lewis