News | 100 years ofWI


downsmail.co.uk TheWI at 100 - handing baton to WI ‘savedmy life’


DIANE Parr has recently become branch secretary at the Bearsted & ThurnhamWI, and she admits it would have been tough in re- tirement without having the group to join. Despite having lived in


Bearsted for many years, her working patternsmeant that she didn’t really know many of the people who live in the village – but theWI has changed all that. “Forme, it’s about friendship,”


she said. “I used to work in East Sussex, Iwould leave at 7amand not get home until 7pm, sowhen I retired, I didn’t knowanyone in the village. “I’d been involved in the WI


whenmy children were younger, so I joined up and after a couple ofmeetings I had alreadymade friends. It’s savedmy life! “I feel young inmind and I do


a lot of exercise classes, too, but I think there are more younger people in the WI these days. Things like Calendar Girls have made it a bit more cool, but it does all depend on lifestyle –my daughter is 47 and I don’t think for a second she would say that she’s ready to join theWI – but in a village it’s a big part of life.” The Bearsted & Thurnham


branch pre-dates the federation it is a member of. “We had our celebrations in January,” Diane added. “We’ve got around 95 mem-


bers sowe’re still going strong. A few are in their 40s, and one in her 20s, butwe do get quite a lot of new people.” “It’s not just about the WI


meetings either, we have lots of classes – art, book club, craft, drama, gardening, leisure, walk- ing and so on – there’s plenty for people to do.”


THINGS are obviously different now for the Women’s Institute, but as the West Kent Federation prepares to celebrate its centenary, it is still going strong.


The first WI was formed in An-


glesey – Llanfairpwllgwyngyll to be exact – in 1915, and the move- ment quickly spread. The first one to open in the West Kent Federa- tion area was Hextable & Swanley in 1917, with Bearsted & Thurn- hamfollowing in January 1918. That, in turn, led to the founda-


tion of theWestKentWI inApril of that year, and it is still going strong – in fact, it is getting stronger,with five new groups having started in the past few months. There are nowa total of around 7,750women signed up to the 180 WIs that fall under theWest Kent umbrella. Of course, the war effort is not a


major aimof the groups anymore, but theWI these days looks to pro- vide women with educational op- portunities and new skills, as well as offering talks, trips andmore be- sides. It also campaigns on issues important towomen. Annette Smith, chairman of the


West Kent WI Federation, said: “When I first went to a National Council meeting seven or eight years ago, the big debate was aroundmega-farms. Iwas stunned that the heads of the National Farmers’ Union and the Soil Asso- ciationwere both there to speak on the issue. It showed the importance of getting the WI movement on side on such big issues.” TheWI does have a reputation of


“jam, jumble and Jerusalem”, but Mrs Smith insists that is in the past now.Overwhelmingly, there is one thing that is driving people to join theWI in 2018 – friendship. Mrs Smith is a case in point. “I joined to meet people and it


was the best thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “We did a survey last year and the number one thing our


Members of the Bearsted & ThurnhamWI craft group with some blankets they have created to send toMalawi


members get out of being in theWI is friendship. “Theworld can be a lonely place,


and people don’t tend to stay in the same place for their whole lives as theymay have done in the past. “But theWI can bring people to-


gether. The WI varies hugely, and as I said in my keynote speech at our annual meeting last year, it is for everyone, and can bewhat peo- plewant it to be.” And as for “that reputation”?


Long gone, she insists. “I’ve never made jam, nor been


to a jumble sale, but I have sung Jerusalema fewtimes,” she said. “No twoWIs are the same. There


is no longer a typicalWI member. Yes, some prefer tea and cake at their meetings but others prefer wine and nibbles, and talks can be on anything from the history of quilting to gin tasting. “Our age range goes from women in their 20s to their 90s and


there has been a noticeable surge in new WIs with women in their 20s and 30s opening in urban areas. Our most northerly group, for ex- ample, is a group of ladies called the Borough Belles, who meet in central London. “They don’t live there, theywork


there, but they take the opportu- nity tomeet up. “Some of our groups have all of


the age ranges, there are somewith an oldermembership and there are others where they are all young- sters.” Members are older in Staplehurst


and ElaineMartin (76)was amem- ber of theWI in her earlier life and took a few years’ break before re- joining in 2016. She said: “Iwent back a couple of


years ago as some of my friends were members and, because I am on my own most of the time, it is nice to go to the social events.” Reports by Jon Phipps


Movement which preceded the Suffrage�es still has a voice KingsHill is itself a unique place.


AS WELL as making friends, the WI is well known for giving women a voice. Its foundations, back before


women even had the vote, is proof of that. It is one part of the attraction for


Tina Patterson, right, the president of the Kings Hill group. “There is definitely still a place


for theWI, hand on heart, because it gives people somewhere to go and it helps with issues, too,” she said. TheWI has a voice, a strong voice. It goes back to the times of


18 Maidstone April 2018


the suffragettes, of course, but we now have a voice on other issues – both local and na- tional. “For example, in


KingsHillwe have two defibrillators,


but they are both on private land so when they are locked up, they can’t be used.We’ve spoken to the coun- cil and now something is going to be done to make sure they can be accessed at all times.”


Having only been around for just over 20 years, it is not a place where many people have spent their entire lives. TheWIwas founded in 2002, and


has provided a haven for the fe- male residents. “Iwould say 99.9%of the people


that have come along and joined have done it for the interactions with people,” Tina said. “I guess Kings Hill can be a little bit like Stepford Wives, it can be hard to get to knowpeople if you’re newto


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100 years ofWI |News


a younger generation ofmembers Time pressures ‘take their toll on life’


ONE placewhere themembership is on the older side is the village of Headcorn, where theWI itself is ap- proaching its own 100th birthday. Founded in 1922, HeadcornWI still has around 30


members, including some for whomtheWI has been a huge part of their lives. That includes Margaret Baker, a member of the


group for the past 65 years, who said: “I joined be- cause ofmymother. A lot of ourmumswere involved and we could join at 15 back then, so we did. “We’re very friendly, celebrating each other’s birth-


days and we have a lot of speakers,most of who are very good. Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of friends through theWI. “Of course, Headcorn used to be a lot smaller than


it is now. If someone doesn’t turn up to a meeting, we will check if they’re okay, we look out for each other and we visit each other’s houses.” Margaret has seenmore thanmost howtheWI has


changed over time. “Life is so busy these days,” she says. “Mostwomen


have jobs and although we meet at 7.30pm their husbandsmay not be home to look after the children. “There are new houses where I live and a lot of the


people travel to London for work, so they don’t have time for evening events. It’s a shame. “It’s hard these days, Biddenden, which is just up


the road, closed down because they couldn’t get peo- ple to be the chairman or the treasurer and you need those roles.” AndHeadcorn’s ownmembership is down onwhere


it used to be – but Margaret insists there is still so much to be gained fromthe group. She said: “We’ve got 30-odd members these days.


We used to have a lotmore but times have changed. We still meet once a month but our membership is getting older. “It’s a shame that younger people don’t seem to


want to get involved. “We still have a really good group, with friendship


and outside activities, but of course we’d like more members. “Our youngest member these days is in her late


40s, I’d say.We used to have amuch youngermem- ber who was great; she was the treasurer for a while and one year she and I laid the wreath together on Remembrance Sunday – as the young and the not so young together – but shemoved away.”


Secret of the urban success


IT IS no secret that no two WIs are the same – and the starkest differences can be between the urban and rural groups. South Park WI is one which


falls firmly into the former cate- gory, meeting at Maidstone Hockey Club, south of the town centre. Secretary Eve Harvey, a long-


term member, admits that does change things. “A disadvantage that South


Park WI has is that we don’t have a community as such to draw upon like a village,” she said. “I think it’s easier to fund raise in villages and so on. But we do a lot of charity work, we support homeless people in Maidstone and the food banks.


inmodern age


the area. Because it’s a newvillage, there’s not lots of peoplewho have known each other for years and years.We have amixture of ages in the group, fromtheir late 30s up to twomemberswho celebrated their 90th birthdays last year.” LikemanymembersDownsMail


has spoken to, Tina’s reason for joining was a desire to keep active once herworking dayswere done. “I’ve been amember for just over


four years,” the 73-year-old said. “I had worked allmy life and looked after my father until he passed


away. My husband was in the RoyalAir Force, so I used to travel a lot, so joining theWI was a good way for me to make friends. The biggest part of it ismeeting people. “There is the reputation of jam


and Jerusalembut it really isn’t like that anymore.We’ve had a number of different speakers come to visit us, from reflexology and candle makers to tales of travels around the world. It’s important that we keep it varied because we need to make sure that we cater for all of the ages.”


“Butwe are thriving.We’re not


actively looking for new mem- bers –we tend to pick people up who come along with friends and join. We have about 60 members at themoment andwe are quite limited, really, because of where wemeet. “Our members go from the


age of about 40 up into their 70s, but the majority are in their early 60s, normally who’ve just retired, butwho are still active.” But despite having amember-


ship largelymade up of retirees – including some of those who were involved in its formation 44 years ago – the group remains very active and far fromthe idea thatmany outsiderswill have of theWI.


Institute facts


TheWI originated in Canada in 1897 and moved to Britain in 1915;


 During WWI the WI encour- aged women to help grow and preserve food to help ease short- ages;


In the 1930s,WI activitieswere more light-heartedwithmusic fes- tivals, plays and country dancing;


 To help raise the profile of the WI, a tour bus went round the country in the 1980s during a three year campaign to attract moremembers;


 The 1990s had the celebration of theWI’s 75th anniversary with HerMajesty the Queen attending the AGM.


Additional research: AmyMartin Adding to the


Chocolate team ONE groupwhere age is definitely not a factor for members is Maid- stoneChocolateWI,who are based in the town centre. Set up by Hannah Patton seven


years ago, Chocolate may sound like aWI group youmightwant to avoid if you’re on a diet, but it is not quite as tasty as it might sounds. “The name simply has come be-


cause we used to meet in Bar Chocolate,” Hannah, above, ex- plains. “We’ve moved on since then but the name has stayed, and we do a lot of chocolate-themed events. “We’ve only got about 12 mem-


bers at themoment, sowe’re a very small WI, but we do have a few people on maternity leave and other have moved on for various reasons.” MaidstoneChocolateWI also has


a specialmascot. Hannah said: “When the Federa-


tion turned 95, we had to do 95 things in celebration so we got Chocolate Bear to do 95 events – and she’s still going. She’s walked in Pride, she’sbeentocampingfestivals, she’s been toworkshops, all sorts of things. She’s ourmascot,people take her everywhere – she’s been to Peru and even to the TajMahal.” Hannah (31) has been a member


since her early 20s – and she has ab- solutely no regrets about joining the organisation. She said: “I was working at the


county show and I got chatting to someone fromtheWI andit sounded great, so Iwent along. Iwasn’t intim- idatedat the firstmeeting – I’ll talk to anyone – and I knewwhat to expect. EveryWI isdifferent, andIwas lucky that I found such a good group. “It is a bit like Girl Guiding for


WImembers get together at a offeemorning at Kings Hill golf club


grown-ups, really.Girlswho are too old for the guides can then move along to theWI.”


Maidstone April 2018 19


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