The History of the WI

Joanne Patrick

January 2014

The WI is a Three Tier Organisation

W IW h e y A ye W I

C o u n tyN o rthu m be rlan d Fe d era tion

W I

C o u n ty

W I

C o u n ty

N a tion a l F e de ra tio n o f W o m en s In s titu tesH e ad qu a rte rs in L o nd on

Adelaide Hoodless

• Canadian

• Married 1881

• 4 Children

Erland Lee – Secretary of the Farmers Institute

Objects for the WI

• Domestic Economy

• Architecture

• Health

• Floriculture and Horticulture

• Music and Art

• Literature

Madge Watt

• Moved from Canada to Britain following her husbands death in 1913

1.

Llanfair PG WI

• Llanfair PG was the first WI in Britain.

• Formed in 1915

WI through the years

• 1918 First resolution passed

• 1919 Home and Country, the monthly WI magazine started

• 1919 Madge Watt formed a WI at Sandringham with Queen Mary as President

WI through the years

• 1924 Jerusalem was first sang at the AGM, a tradition that still continues today

• 1933 Resolution passed calling on all WI members to support local efforts to deal with unemployment and distress amongst women

• 1943 Subs raised to 2shillings and sixpence

Denman College, Oxfordshire

• 1948 Doors opened to students for the first time

1.

WI through the years

• 1955 Following the previous years resolution the “Keep Britain Tidy” group was formed

• 1955 Now a total of 8,296 WI’s

• 1962 Subs now 5 shillings

WI through the years

• 1974 Record number of WI’s 9,309

• 1974 Subs raised to £15.00

• 1988 Total number of WI’s 9,108

• 1990 75th anniversary, Queen addresses AGM

WI through the years

• 2006 Final issue of Home and Country

• 2009 5th October Tyneside Fed. amalgamated with Northumberland Fed.

• 2013 New constitution detailing objects of todays WI

Today’s WI

• Still campaigning for causes we believe in

• Total number of WI members stands at 215,230

• Total number of WI’s 6,542

• 2015 Centenary year

• www.thewi.org