Yahoo News East Yorkshire branch of the WI marks 100-year milestone with cake and memories
Trailblazing pioneers paved the way for a successful women’s organisation that is still going strong 100 years on.
That was what members of Brandesburton Women’s Institute (WI), a member of the East Yorkshire Federation of WIs, were told at a celebratory meeting marking their centenary this week. The branch at Brandesburton, near Driffield – its members conducted a mince pie taste test for Hull Live last Christmas - first met in the village on November 10, 1924.
Ann Mitchell, adviser and member of the board of trustees for the WI nationally, was a guest at Brandesburton’s annual meeting and spoke to the group about how special it was for a branch to attain one hundred years, and how members should think about their predecessors who laid the foundations at a time when women’s rights were so limited. Another guest was Christine Snowden, chair of the East Yorkshire Federation of WIs.
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A celebration cake provided for the occasion was cut by longest-serving member Beryl Barker, 86, who has clocked up 62 years with the group. Beryl said she joined the WI as a way of meeting people after moving into the village.
“I think it’s important that groups like the WI keep going in a community. I’ve made so many friends through it, over the years, and I don’t think I have ever known as many members as there are now,” she said.
Another long-standing member is Elizabeth Goforth, 76, who was involved even before she was officially signed up. “My grandmother, Mrs Brown, my mum’s mother, was one of the founder members; it started out at Brandesburton School,” she said.
“Mum and my Aunt Nan (Grainger) both joined when they were 14 and were members right up until they died – Dad used to call them the Wild Indians. I used to go on the outings before I was a member.”
Dorothy Duggleby, the branch’s president for 21 years, said: “The best thing about being a WI member is friendship. We learn from the speakers and demonstrations and from each other – and we have fun.”
The evening saw a display of memorabilia from the Brandesburton branch archives. A competition for a china cup and saucer was won by Sylvia Deighton.
A host of centenary events is planned for the forthcoming year. A celebration lunch will be held at the Railway Inn, New Ellerby, on Saturday, November 16, and at a 1920s-themed party in January 2025, members will be encouraged to dress up in outfits of the period.
