Past Chairman Maurice Elzas getting ready for the "start" on the Tour de Normandie - 2008

The Fellowship was founded about 22 years (1988) ago by Brian Henry of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga in Australia under the name of "Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship" (RRAF).

After successfully prospecting for members throughout the world and getting good response in New Zealand and the United States, Brian Henry met Roger Guinet of the Rotary Club of Cap d'Agde, France at the International Rotary Convention a few years later.

Roger was instrumental in gaining footing for the fellowship in Europe. About 20 years ago he set up the RRAF in Europe as the local coordinating body of the international fellowship.

The RRAF Europe was active for nearly a decade in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany.

Outside of Europe membership was to be found in Australia, USA and New Zealand.

Because of health problems of the two initial leaders (Henry and Guinet) and the rising popularity and number of classic car clubs outside of the Rotary sphere of influence, the original enthusiasm for the RRAF gradually diminished in a number of countries.

By the year 2000 many of local RRAF organizations had ceased most of their activities except in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and the Netherlands

In 2001 Brian Henry, notwithstanding his health handicap, started an initiative for revival of the fellowship.

At that point in time the name of the fellowship was changed, in consultation with Rotary International, in order to reflect its area of interest in a better way.

The name became: Antique, Classic & Historic Automobile Fellowship of Rotarians. Later "world" was assed to the title - but not the acronym!

Unfortunately, in 2003, Brian's health problems reappeared.

In order to continue his task of reviving the fellowship he asked Maurice Elzas, chairman of RRAF Netherlands, to take over the international chairmanship after consulting with Rotary International.

The new chairman and his team embarked in this venture with great enthusiasm and got rewarded by serious expression of interest from almost everywhere on the globe.

To celebrate this revival and commemorate the first rally ever held (in 1894) an appropriate event was organized In France in 2004 in which 25 teams of 4 countries participated. (See: Past Events on this website)

A General Assembly was held at this occasion (See minutes on the Organization page) and the structure and name changed into the present one: Antique, Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians.

In 2008 Maurice handed over the reins to Colin Weeks the past Chairman of the RRAF of GB & I