History of The Probus Club of Bristol

The introduction of Probus clubs to Bristol owes much to Leslie Pearce, who was a member of the Club from 1979 until his death in December 2008. As a Rotarian in Kent he had seen Probus clubs beginning to flourish and on moving to Bristol was instrumental in the decision of the Rotary Club of Bristol to investigate the establishment of a Probus club in the Bristol area. The Rotary Club held an “interest” lunch on 8th March 1971 followed by an “inaugural” lunch on 24th March at which a Steering Committee was elected to form and launch the Probus Club. The Committee decided that the club should be called "The Probus Club of Bristol” with a membership confined to retired and semi-retired professional and business men from the city and its environs.

The first lunch of the new club was held on Tuesday 27th April with 44 Founder members present.

It was agreed that the Club should meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month (although in December a change is sometimes necessary), a practice which continues to this day. The Club has met at various venues but now meets, for lunch and a talk from a guest speaker, at BAWA in North Bristol.

In 1974 the membership ceiling was raised to 85, in 1986 to 90, and in March 1989 to 100 members. From then onwards there was a growing waiting list and applicants for membership were having to wait for years and two actually died while waiting.

Inevitably a new Club had to be formed with a nucleus of our own members. On the 9th November 1993, The Bristol Brunel Probus Club was inaugurated and Eric Jordan was elected it's first Chairman, with some 28 members of this Club becoming Founder Members. Its first lunch took place in November 1993. That Club similarly mushroomed and gathered a waiting list until they too formed another Club, Bristol Cabot Probus. A number of others followed and we maintain a pleasurable contact with them by means of visits.

In the early years the Probus Clubs within Rotary District 1100 held an Annual Conference but these have been discontinued. Probus Clubs have turned their backs on a national organisation and bureaucracy and have preferred to develop their own ways. Some Clubs meet just for coffee and a speaker and some provide speakers from among their own members. Our Club is fortunate in being able to choose from a wide range of outstanding speakers.

The Probus Club of Bristol continues to attract new members with high attendances at its monthly luncheons with good food, good fellowship, and good speakers. The membership fee is modest (currently £20) and the three course lunch very affordable at £11. You get a lot for your money!

The Club currently has 70 members, aged from 60 to over 90, who live or worked in Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire. The Club welcomes applications for membership and encourages anyone interested to attend one or two meetings as a visitor. Those interested should contact the Club’s Secretary.