New Malden Rotary Club was created in 1929, some 24 years after Rotary International itself came into being in Evanston, near Chicago USA.  The name itself had a very practical origin.  In the early days of the organisation members did not have a single location to call home.  To hold meetings, therefore, members would ‘rotate’ through each others offices.    Hence ‘Rotary’ and ‘Rotarians’.

Originally a businessmen’s Club, over the years Rotary and its clubs across the world, including New Malden, have evolved to reflect the changing norms of the societies which they serve.  Today Rotary is known better as one of the largest charitable service organisations in the world, open to all genders, religions, cultures and ages and with 1.2 million members in over 200 countries.  Its principal object is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise: service to its members and service to its local and international communities; best enshrined in its motto ‘Service above Self’.