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A photograph of the banner presentation can be found
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The club banner shows Pocahontas who was buried in 1617
in the chancel of the old St George’s Church, Gravesend, which burned down
in 1727. The present St George’s Church covers the site of the old one and
has a statue of Pochaontas in the churchyard. Information and stained glass
windows relating to Pocahontas are within the church.
The Pocahontas link with Meopham arises through John
Tradescant who married the daughter of the Rector of Meopham. Tradescant, once
gardener for Lord Cobham, sought out plants, artefacts and curiosities for his
collection. Amongst the items he acquired from Virginia, was the cloak of
Powhattan, father of Pocahontas. These later formed the foundation of the
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Club history. The need for an evening club serving
Gravesend was mooted around 1990 by members of Gravesend Rotary Club. In 1991,
The Rotary Club of Gravesend agreed to sponsor the new Club and early in 1992,
the first preliminary meetings were held. Four members of Rotary Club of
Gravesend formed the nucleus of the new club, Lester Banks, Philip Burkill,
Doug Grierson and Peter Jones.
Within a short time another 20+ potential members
expressed firm interest. The name of the new club arose, after much debate,
because about 50% of the new membership lived in the Meopham area. The Club was
chartered in June 1992.
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