Welcome to the website of Probus Club of Wimborne
The aim of our club is to provide a meeting place for retired professional and businessmen and to promote a spirit of fellowship amongst members.
The Club is run by its members for its members.
Please explore this website to find out what we can offer and how to join.
The Probus Organisation
The word Probus is an abbreviation of the words PROfessional and BUSiness, however membership is not restricted to these two groups. It is for anyone who held a position of responsibility during their working life.
Probus clubs provide an opportunity for retired or semi-retired professionals to attend regular meetings with like-minded people who appreciate similar interests and social standing. Probus is an organisation for active retirees who enjoy the camaraderie that belonging to this organisation brings.
The concept of Probus was born in UK by Ralph Harper (1928 - 2010) and has grown to be a huge success worldwide.
History Of Probus Club Of Wimborne
The club was formed in 1980 by Mike Stead, Eric Brattle, Doug Upton and Bill Groves.
In Feb 1988, the Club became too big; there was a feeling that if the club grew to more than say, 55 members the members would not know each other, so Minster Probus was spun out as a separate entity.
During the 1980's and for much of the 1990's the club existed essentially as a male lunch club. The club met in a series of venues around Wimborne, eventually settling into Cobham Social Club around the turn of the millennium.
Under the leadership of the then President Peter Smith, around 1998, a Ladies Lunch was organised with great success and this spawned a whole variety of social events, which included wives and partners, these initiatives were led by John Armfield and Walter Harrabin and included coffee mornings, day visits and about 2002 the first Holiday to Devon and Cornwall. This remains the format of the club today.
