A short history of Chepstow and District Round Table No. 280

According to the records held at Marchesi House in Birmingham, Chepstow and District Round Table No. 280 held its inaugural meeting in 1950 but then faded into the mists of oblivion time.  The table is recorded as re-opening on the 26^th October 1962 and its Charter was re-granted on 10^th May 1963.  The actual Charter presentation took place on 24^th May 1963.

By the end of the first full year in March 1964 the table consisted of 22 members with many now familiar names.  The membership rules not only limited the maximum age to 40 but also limited the number of members with the same job to two per category.  Chepstow had four full job categories: architect, farmer, auctioneer/estate agent and schoolmaster.  The original members were: R. Blight, R. Breach, B. Barton, K. Beard, J. Clark, J. Collier, R. Hopton, I. Henderson, R. Henderson, T. Jones, Trevor Jones, R. McDowell, A. Purnell, G. Rastall, J. Rees, J. Rogers, H. Schofield, C. Smith, D. Taylor, T. Wheeldon, B. Whatley and C. White.  Four members of this original table are still active in Offa’s Dyke 41 Club today and they are: Bob Hopton, Ray Henderson, Guy Rastall, and Colin White.

The new table was assisted in its formation by Newport 26, the original ‘mother table’.  During the initial meetings four or five Newport members attended to offer support and advice and that close relationship has continued to this day.  In the early days meetings were held in the Beaufort Hotel, Chepstow but the table has maintained a ‘nomad like’ attitude to meeting places that has included St Pierre, The Royal George, Tintern, and The George , Chepstow,  and many others.

In the early 1980’s Chepstow Round Table gained a reputation for staging large and impressive fund raising events.  The May Day Spectacular was staged for the first time on May 3^rd 1982 at Caldicot Castle Park.  Under the Chairmanship of Paul Lewis a crowd of over 20,000 attended the event to see the Radio 1 Roadshow with its guests Depeche Mode.  The inspiration for the event initially came from the Fund Raising Chairman - Lyndon Sadler and he was supported by the rest of the table.  The considerable amount of funds raised enabled Chepstow Round Table to purchase the first minibus of many.  That one was donated to the Scouts.  The May Day Spectacular continued for many years and raised many tens of thousands of pounds for local charities.  The event welcomed artists such as Showaddywaddy, The Bootleg Beatles, and Suzi Quattro plus many local bands.  Under Russ Currie’s Chairmanship in 1992/93 Chepstow was awarded the Allied Dunbar National Community Service Rose Bowl not only for the May Day event but also for the co-ordination of Round Tables National Children in Need Appeal and for our own outstanding efforts in that appeal.  After fifteen years it was felt the event had run its course and become difficult to manage and alternative events were added to the calendar to replace the lost revenue.  The Summer Ball, Fireworks Display and Wyedean Rally car parking have become the major fund raisers.

The Santa Sleigh has always been considered a community service event and, although money is collected, it generally only covers the running costs of the event.  Santa has been touring the streets of Chepstow, Caldicot and outlying villages since December 1989 and was instigated by that years Community Service chairman – Derek Salter.  After 19 years the sleigh is being to show its age (like Derek and his alter ego, Santa) but is still giving enormous pleasure to children and parents alike.

In 2008 Chepstow table become involved in another local event the Chepstow Carnival.  The event was a great success and will probably become a key part the table calendar.

The members of Chepstow table have been active in Round Table Area 4 for some years.  We have provided three Area Chairmen beginning with the infamous Mike Burke in 1990/91 followed by Russ Currie in 1995/96 and recently Chris Bean in 2005/06.  In addition, the table members have made contributions to both Area and National committees.  Chepstow and District Round Table is one of the few tables to have three Life Honorary Members in: Russ Currie, Derek Salter and Graham Bailey.  The three were recognised for their outstanding contribution, over many years, to the success and stability of the table.

It should not be forgotten that we have one of Round Table’s superstars in our own humble table.  In 1996/97 Russ Currie was awarded the RTBI National Presidents Award for outstanding achievements to the movement.  Bear in mind that only six of these had ever been awarded at the time.  This was in recognition for his work on the Great Round Table Toddle for BBC Children in Need and resulted in the National President appearing on television for the first time – a master stroke!

 Chairmen and Presidents of Chepstow and District Round Table No. 280

Dates	Chairman	President
1963 – 64	Ron Blight
1964 – 65	Tony Wheeldon
1965 – 66	Hugh Schofield
1966 – 67	John Clark
1967 – 68	Ray Henderson
1968 – 69	Colin Smith
1969 – 70	John Rogers
1970 – 71	Tom Beverley-Jones
1971 – 72	Ken Taylor
1972 – 73	Ron McDowell
1973 – 74	Guy Rastall
1974 – 75	Douglas Elliot
1975 – 76	John Hunt
1976 – 77	John Nicolas
1977 – 78	Spencer Thomas
1978 – 79	Jim Bowen
1979 – 80	Noel Bellamy
1980 – 81	Roger Brown
1981 – 82	Rob Derricott	Ray Henderson
1982 – 83	Paul Lewis	Douglas Elliot
1983 – 84	Kingsley Stock	Guy Rastall
1984 – 85	Alan Kirkham	Howard Deaton
1985 – 86	Trevor Bouault	Paul Lewis
1986 – 87	Mike Griffiths	Spencer Thomas
1987 – 88	Mike Burke	Tony Babbington
1988 – 89	Andy Plummer	Trevor Bouault
1989 – 90	Phil Mundell	Alan Kirkham
1990 – 91	Chris Davies	Kingsley Stock
1991 – 92	Mark Henson	Mike Sexton
1992 – 93	Russ Currie	Phil Mundell
1993 – 94	Derek Salter	Mike Burke
1994 – 95	Graham Bailey	Barrie Monday
1995 – 96	Phil Leonard	Andy Plummer
1996 – 97	Richard Lampard	Derek Slater
1997 – 98	Glen Pitman	Colin Pitman
1998 – 99	Dave Arundell	Jeff Manship
1999 – 2000	Chris Bean	Les Warren
2000 – 01	Graham Bailey	Tony Babbington
2001 – 02	Guy Lewis	Ian Venables
2002 – 03	Chris Bean	Russ Currie
2003 – 04	Andrew Dean	Graham Bailey
2004 – 05	Keith Bryant	Derek Salter
2005 – 06	Mark Bird	Andrew Dean
2006 – 07	Les Oxley	John Donnachie
2007 – 08	Jon Foster	Russ Currie
2008 - 09	Martin Curtis	Keith Bryant
2009 - 10	Ian Campbell	Andrew Dean
2010 - 11	Stuart Dent	Chris Bean