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
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