Past District Governor General Saiyud Kerdphol Visits Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin.
 

The Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin was honoured to be joined for its 2nd Club Assembly on Tuesday 28th January 2020 by Past District Governor General Saiyud Kerdphol and his wife Rotarian Eva. General Saiyud is a long time supporter of the Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin and close friends to Past President Paul Grab and Past President and President Elect Brian Anderson.
General Saiyud who will be 98 in March this year enjoyed an illustrious career which saw service in World War 11 and Korea and became Thailand's oldest general when he retired in 1983 as the Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
 
During the second World War as a Captain in the Thai Army he oversaw the surrender of Japanese forces in Nakhon Pathom in 1945.
 
General Saiyud has previously stated that when he was the Supreme Commander of the Thai armed forces, and explained that he had the most crucial task of ensuring that the US military and the Thai military understood each other and thus cooperated in dealing with the problems at hand. This was during the Vietnam conflict, which was then at its height as was the Communist insurgency in Thailand.
 
General Saiyud Kerdphol, Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, reviews the troops at the opening ceremony for Operation MITRAPAB (picture below).
 
General Saiyud from the Rotary Club Bangkok which was the first Rotary Club in Thailand became the District Governor of district 335 in 1991-92. Up until then there were only 2 Rotary districts in Thailand, namely districts 335 and 336. In 1992 two new Rotary International districts were created in Thailand.
The 4 districts are: District 3330 (formally District 335)in the South, District 3340 in the East and Northeast, District 3350 in the Central Region and District 3360 9formally District 336) covering the North of Thailand.
 
General Saiyud is a strict vegan and mostly enjoys eating only raw foods like salads, fresh fruits and sprouts and in the 1990’s he became the is the Founder and President of Thai Vegetarian Union and became the President of Bangkok Vegetarian Society.
 
Also General Saiyud is the author of several books relating to military subjects from his experiences in the Royal Thailand Armed Forces.
As a former military commander and Past District Governor he linked the two roles in an address to the Pattaya Rotary club recently on the subject of ‘Tolerance and understanding will lead to world peace’ He stated that the Importance and necessity of cooperation between the diverse cultures and traditions of the human race, if we want to achieve friendship, world understanding and peace.
 
Gen. Saiyud compared this philosophy and mission to that of the Rotary Clubs. He said that a multi-cultural club is of great benefit to the Rotary movement.
 
“Admittedly, it is an immense challenge. You must learn to love each other and work together as a team. Rotary is a movement that embraces peoples of all colour, creed and sex. languages means you are faced with the daunting task of creating that level of tolerance and understanding of each other.
 
Also during the Club Assembly President Napa was pleased to announce the induction of new member Dr Werner Wyss. Dr Werner is from Switzerland and was sponsored by Rotarian Torsten Voight. Dr Wyss who joined the chemical industry as a doctor and became a specialist in Dermatology and is now the 50th member of the Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin.