In 1934 the Harrises made a journey to
Britain and as with his other visits, Paul Harris wrote a diary of
his experiences. This diary he offered to the Board of Rotary to keep
them informed both of his own movements and of the state of Rotary as
he saw it in the various countries he went to. He called it
'Peregrinations or A Visit to Great Britain and South Africa', and
although it has never been published as such, it has been quoted by
various writers, perhaps most effectively in
James Walsh's book
'The First Rotarian'.
1934 was a particularly sensitive time
in British Rotary following some enactments made at the RI Convention
in 1933 in Boston. The problems centred round the status and
prerogatives of RIBI within RI. Then, as now, the position of RIBI
as 'an administrative territorial unit within RI' had led to much
argument from other countries who wanted similar status, or the ending
of the special status of RIBI as laid down in the 1922 agreement. A
meeting had been scheduled in London for mid March between
representatives of RI and RIBI and several senior members of RI
crossed the Atlantic at this time.
Much of the transatlantic voyage was
spent debating the discussions which were to take place with RIBI in
London. After the rapport which the President Emeritus had clearly
established with British Rotary on his earlier visits, this was at
least one visitor who would be welcome in Britain, whatever the
outcome of the delicate discussions which were now to take place
between this top level party of senior Rotarians and the leaders of
British Rotary. At their London base, the American group spent several
days talking with British Rotarians "at the task of ironing out the
difficulties arising from the RI, RIBI relationship". Paul Harris
later wrote that the results were such that "suspicions had been
dispelled; the atmosphere had been cleared, and future friendly
relations assured". In fact, on March 21, RIBI issued a reassuring
statement to all clubs and promised to submit a suitable amendment to
the Detroit Convention whereby the position of RIBI prior to the
Boston Convention would be restored.
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 For
most of the time, the President Emeritus (left in this 1923
photo) and Ches Perry, the Secretary, were present only as
interested observers, "deeply interested observers to be sure", Paul
Harris wrote later. As 'observers', both Harris and Perry had the
opportunity, if they so wished, to leave the discussions and go
visiting.
Although there is no mention of it
in Paul Harris' own diary for this 1934 tour, he visited some club
meetings while the other members of the delegation from RI were
engaged in their discussions about the status of British Rotary.
The history of the Hammersmith Club
records a visit by the President Emeritus at one of their regular
Friday meetings sometime in 1934. This can only have been on March 2
as Paul Harris was not in London on any other Friday in 1934. T
Melville Jones, the High Master of St Paul's School, one of the
foremost public schools in England, was in the Chair, and a Rotarian
who was present recalled that "Paul Harris impressed us all with his
warmth, modesty and down to earth approach."
After several days talking and with business now concluded, Paul and
Jean Harris could begin their holiday.
Basil Lewis
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