Chaplaincy. It was a wonderful room, full of stuffed animals and relics of his days on the bicycle going around Australia. He was President for a very short time only, until we had our Charter.
Our first Chairman, Bill Wardrop, worked for the Electricity Board. He
never became President because he was moved, so he was at the interim Club, but not later on. Another member was John Challis who was a music teacher at Palmers School. I was just a youngster there and I had great difficulty in calling him John because he had been my music teacher. We had to call one another in Rotary by Christian names and I found this difficult as, when people were so senior to me, I wanted to say “Sir”.
Our Secretary was Gordon Warren; he was Treasurer of Hornchurch Urban District Council and was very much a learner. He wasn’t married and I got to know him very well, as I was Assistant Secretary. He was difficult to get to know, but a very nice man. Unfortunately, he didn’t live many years. He died from lung cancer just before I was President 10 years later. I went to see him in hospital, poor chap. He died in London Hospital.
Another of the first members was Archie Rogers. Archie was a solicitor in Upminster and was known to everybody in the area.
Next on my “list” was Francis Turner, our Treasurer. He was the manager of Lloyds Bank, Upminster. We knew him well even before Rotary, because he had two cocker spaniel dogs. They were very often in trouble.
Norman Baker was the headmaster at what, at that time, was the secondary school in Upminster in Cedar Avenue. The school later moved to Hornchurch and is now called Emerson Park School. Then there was Charlie Hayward, an estate agent, who never wanted to become President, although he worked very hard. Frank Luff was a well known local character who was into everything. He was a Registrar. Dr. Patterson, whom I have already mentioned, was the medical officer. Alfred Salinger was on the committee and was a builder. He had been Chairman of Hornchurch Council the year before the Club formally started.
In February 1946, when we did get our Charter, the Chairman of Hornchurch District Council was Mr Twigger. He refused on put on a dinner jacket at our President’s Night, so he was turned down and they offered a representative of the local council. Salinger was very keen and was always on about having a Chamber of Commerce, so, as soon as we got
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