1916 – 1918
Rotary in Europe During World War One
There’s an old saying – "Things are never as bad as they seem, until they get as bad
as they really are." In the years 1916-1918, World War 1 in Europe was as bad as
it really was. Europe was embroiled in what was christened "the war to end all wars."
As the ashes of war, begun in 1914, began to replace the flame of hope for
peace in Europe, Rotary began to rally its members and committees into patriotic
service. During the war, clubs across Britain appointed war service committees, which
in
turn
had
subcommittees
charged
with
promoting
international
encouraging
enlistments,
providing
war
relief,
addressing
trade,
unemployment and helping to maintain local industries. In Ireland, the Rotary Club of
Belfast formed the Ulster Motor Ambulance Division, which helped produce
vehicles (reworked) for wounded soldiers in France.
There were many instances of Rotary’s good work in Europe at that time. Long-time
Rotary General Secretary, Ches Perry, remarked – "Let this war go on if it needs be, but let
us give thought now to the horrors of war and the blessings of peace. Let Rotary make
international peace and goodwill its mission as an international organization."
By 1918, many U.S. military officers, diplomats, and humanitarian agency
workers based in France, who in civilian life had been Rotarians, started the Allied
Rotary Club in France. Ancil T. Brown from the Indianapolis club became its first
president, and such notable Rotarians as General John J. "BlackJack" Pershing, U.S.
Ambassador William Sharp and Major James Perkins, Red Cross commissioner for
Europe, were regular attendees.
The official Rotary Club of Paris was started after the war, in 1921, and
Rotary Clubs in Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Zurich and Praque soon followed.
Rotary now had an additional Object for their Creed: "the aim to create peace and goodwill
among all people." By April of 1917 the United States had entered the fray and scores of
Rotary Clubs across the U.S. began to put their able backs behind the war
effort.
Next week: This Club’s Efforts.