IN 1944 the world was in turmoil.

World War Two was raging and representatives of western nations braved the dangerous north atlantic, patrolled by German U-boats, to attend a meeting in the US to sow the seeds of the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund.

D-day took place on June 6 and during all this, a group of men from a small town in North West England got together to form a club which had as its motto “Service Above Self”.

Times were hard, rationing was still in force.

The group of men formed Horwich Rotary Club as a means to help other people and strive for international peace and goodwill.

This year the club celebrates its 70th anniversary.

This week we will look at the early life of Horwich Rotary Club from 1944 to 1954 and follow its progress to present day in future editions of Looking Back, thanks to the work of historian Peter Fletcher, whose father was a founder member of Horwich Rotary Club, and who has, himself, been a member for more than 50 years.

A Rotary club is made up of business and professional people whose daily work represents the activities in the town or area in which it is situated.

Assisted by Bolton Rotary Club this latest addition to the Rotary family had its first meeting on July 4, 1944, at the Employment Exchange which used to be in Longworth Road, Horwich, and it was decided a club should be formed.

The inaugural meeting took place on August 17 in the Co-op Cafe in Lee Lane when 65 Rotarians from far and wide came to support the 26 founder members.

Then on January 20, 1945, the Charter was presented making Horwich Rotary Club a fully fledged member of the world-wide organisation known as Rotary International.

At this time another club was formed and congratulations were sent to the Rotary Club of Kweilin, capital of Kwangai province in Free China. Did this club survive after the Mao tse-Tung revolution?

Builder Joe Slater was the first president of the Horwich Rotary Club and town clerk James Seddon was vice-president. The secretary was Ellis Yates who was the town surveyor. There was an entrance fee of two guineas for each member and an annual subscription of £2 12 shillings and 6d — of which 10 shillings and 6d was set aside as a charity donation.

By 1948 at least four members had resigned from the club as they had retired from their daily work.

Now, 70 years on, the vast majority only join when they are approaching retirement, explains Peter.

Every year the anniversary of the granting of the charter is celebrated when members invite their friends to a dinner.

A 20-minute talk has been a feature of meetings since the club was formed and the first speaker, on August 24, 1944 was the Rev N Stephenson from Chorley whose subject was “Passing the Buck”.

Peter said: “Rotary clubs are generally recognised for their charity giving, but in the early days this was not the case.

“It was time, and not money that was thought more important — being of service to others.”

However when an anonymous donation of 10 guineas arrived in the charity account of Horwich Rotary Club it was promptly given to the YMCA.

Other activities included the “Help Holland Fund” which involved the bulk collection of food and clothing.

There were four members who volunteered to work on the Soldiers and Sailors Committee and a grant of £10 was made to TocH (an international movement) towards expenses involved in taking elderly people to Southport for the day.

One year each member was asked to invite a child from the Edgworth Home for a day at Christmas, and for many years, starting in 1947, club members took disabled children on outings to Fleetwood.

Peter said: “In the very early days the Rotary Club provided several benches around the town, and in 1951 a Mrs Leigh donated seven guineas in memory of her father who, she said, had spent many happy hours sitting on a certain seat.”

In 1952 the club held its first public speaking competition for young people.

Here are some entrants and their subjects: Bottom o’th’ Moor Methodist group — “Was the Festival of Britain Justified?”

Lee Cong Youth Group — “Equal Pay”

Conservative Youth Group — “Is Professionalism Spoiling Sport?”

Horwich Parish Church — “Is the Pioneering Spirit Declining?”

In early 1954, the 50th anniversary of Rotary International the members of the club discussed the erection of a memorial to remember lives lost when a Wellington Bomber crashed on Anglezarke Moor during the war.