The founder, Louis Marchesi, was a young member of Norwich Rotary Club who felt a need existed for a club where the young businessmen of the town could gather, on a regular basis. At their meetings, they could exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of their colleagues, and play a collective part in the civic life of Norwich. Within a year of inception, the membership of this Round Table had grown to 85 and interest was being shown in establishing Round Tables elsewhere. A second Round Table was established in Portsmouth and subsequent growth was rapid, with 125 Tables and a membership of 4,600 by 1939. Round Table proved it had international appeal with the first overseas Table formed in Copenhagen in 1936. After 1945 the pattern of growth was rapidly re-established with Tables being ‘chartered’ all over the UK. Today there are about 900 Tables with a membership of over 10,000.