Erland and Janet Lee are not household names, but perhaps they should be; you will no doubt be familiar with the organisation they were instrumental in developing, and more than a hundred years on, the Women’s
Institute is still going just as strongly.
The movement started in 1897 in Canada and came over to Britain in 1915. The first one was in Wales, Llanfair PG, on Anglesey followed by England’s original group also in 1915 in
Singleton, Sussex. It was originally set up to encourage country women to get together and become involved in growing and preserving food to help increase the supply of food during the First World War. By the time the war was over, there were no less than 199 WI’s across the country which grew to 1,405 by the end of 1919.
This year is the centenary of the British WI and since the beginning it has grown to a huge 6,600 WI’s with over 212,000 members. It is now not just about agricultural pursuits and provides members with educational opportunities, activities, social and charitable events and is the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK.
The stereotype of old ladies sitting round an old church hall making jam should be long gone, and you’re just as likely to see a group of young women campaigning the plight of the honey bee. In fact, members of the WI were dancing along to Zumba long before the rest of the nation caught onto the craze. A quick look at the website shows that as well as the traditional recipes and flower arranging, there is just as much activity in the fields of Science or Sports, among a lot more.
And with every member entitled to contribute ideas and events, you’re bound to be surprised if you still thought it was an old fashioned organisation.So why not take a look at their website www.thewi.org.uk and look up your local WI. There’s so much going on, especially with a whole host of centenary celebrations (even Buckingham Palace hosted a Garden Party back in June) it’s not too late to help celebrate this lasting institution.
Written by Danielle Lade