Two founder members help celebrate club's silver jubilee

Members of Bognor Regis Probus club enjoyed a silver jubilee dinner on Friday, May 11,to mark the special occasion.

Among the guests were two founder members, David Chiverton and Stan Holton. They received unique badges to mark their involvement.

Current club chairman Bill Davies also welcomed Pam Hine, the president of the Ladies' Probus Club, and her husband Geoff, as well as the president of Felpham Probus Club, John Atkins, and his wife, Shirley.

Representatives from Bognor Regis Rotary Club and Bognor Hotham Rotary Club were also present along with Bognor's MP, Nick Gibb.

The 25th anniversary has occurred as the club enjoys a membership boom. Its current strength of 76 - aged between 64 and 93 years - compares with less than 30 a decade ago.

The celebration meal took place at the Park Hotel at Chichester. Among the special features of the evening was the launch of a history booklet which details the club's activities.

Past president Wilf Archer, who helped to prepare the booklet, said he believed the popularity was based on the shared interests of the members.

'The club is a meeting place for fellowship for retired men. It's an organisation where people who have finished helping the Round Table and Rotary club work can relax with colleagues and enjoy their company.

'But we have quite a few activities designed to strengthen that fellowship such as various visits. But, it's strange, that even after 25 years we are not especially well known,' he stated.

The idea of Probus dates back to 1965 and has its roots with Welwyn Garden City Rotary Club. The idea was a club for professional and businessmen who had retired and missed the camaraderie of the workplace.

The name Probus was soon formed and club began to be organised around the world.

It was on May 19, 1982, at the Clarehaven Hotel, Wessex Avenue, in Bognor that the town's Probus club held its first meeting.

Mr Chiverton, who became the secretary, writes in the booklet: 'I must confess that the details of the first year have become hazy.

'However, with the help of Stan Holton and Geoff Soothill a nucleus was soon formed and, of course, we had a ready source of speakers with members talking about their jobs, Alaska, City and Guilds and their many interests.

'Looking back, this seems to be one of the best things I have done and its success has proved the need to provide a forum for the friendship which is the cement of life.'

The club quickly became self-sufficient. Detailed records were kept of its meetings as the membership grew into the 50s where it settled.

The club moved with regret from the Clarehaven in September 1985 when it closed.

A move was made to the Beachcroft Hotel in Felpham but this proved temporary. By 1986, the Royal Norfolk Hotel had become its base.

Membership reached a maximum of 80 that year but the numbers began to decline in the 1990s. During 1997, Derek Barnes and Bob Quayle joined and offered their travel experience.

This transformed the timetable of previous occasional outings and led to a travel and social committee being formed in the early years of this century.

The popularity of the journeys has stayed high. At least two day outings by coach take place each year along with a longer outing.

This year's schedule includes five nights in Burgundy along with a two-night Christmas shopping trip to Calais.

The 44-seater coaches are sold out. These complement the annual garden party at the Fox Inn in August and a Christmas luncheon to show how the club is thriving.