The first Round Table was formed in Norwich, England in 1927. The founder, Louis Marchesi, was a young member of Norwich Rotary Club who felt there was a need for a club aimed more at the younger businessmen of the town. His vision was for them to exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of their colleagues, and together contribute to the civic life of the town. In the following 12 months, inter
est was so high that the club attracted 85 members, and people around the country were starting to show an interest in establishing other clubs. From the beginning, the Round Table was a non-religious, non-political, and non-sectarian club, an ethos that still underpins the movement today. The second Round Table club opened soon after in Portsmouth and then the idea really took off—by the time the Second World War broke out in 1939 there were 125 clubs and 4,600 members. The first overseas group was formed in Copenhagen in 1936, and while the movement continued to grow in Denmark, the war years halted British expansion for a while. The existing clubs held strong, however, and when the war was over the momentum grew once again as clubs were chartered all over Britain. Today, in the United Kingdom, there are 600 local Round Tables, with a combined membership of close to 8,000. The Round Table is now a truly international movement, with active members in most European countries, as well as Africa, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the USA. In fact, there are Round Table clubs on every continent
Most local Round Table clubs hold regular meetings each fortnight, getting together for everything from paintballing to a game of football, or even something as simple a drink at the pub or a meal somewhere local. Each local Round Table club usually organises a few one-off events each year. They vary from club to club, and can be anything from carnivals, fireworks displays such as Sparks in the Park, to charity runs. Raising money is often secondary – what matters is that Tablers are getting involved in their local communities and making a difference locally.
