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wouwtoe' S' W on 4 -« Strafordutpon--Avon He mid, 20th February 1997 gooLoMD. Minuet-s tn ad Al . oi the wt in Quinton Church yeste. ay (Wednesday). l r S ton W, assisted by tower master Robert 36 ~ to can Hughes, ring in 100 years 0229/97/24 THE SOUND 0f Chumh bells 6'2th lhmugh South ,Warvvickshire yesterday, (Wednesday) as Women's Insti- tute members marked a very special occasion. For from Rowington to Whichford, Wis in the south of the county celebrated the orgaisation's centenary. . ells were rung in churches throughout the area. from Hol Trinity in Sn--atford, to St ctcr's m Barford, Holy Trinity in Hutton and St Mary and All Saints in Huselor. _ As well as hell-ringing, Haselor and Walcote WI also planted a huddleia bush in the churchyard to commemorate the anniversary. Ringing church hells wasn't the only way local (9'21;ng Tao R'fi \JQ L NQQ'T'OM . Qou.) toga--«OM who. wt (Kilo tog, e E'Mgutllwo Wls marked the occasion: Rowington WI didn't have , any local churchbeils so instead members celebrated by tin ing handbolls. An handhelis were also the order of the dnv for Newhold WI. Great Alric and Kinwarton WI unfurled the Union flag outside the church hall and cut a mom anniveim 5 cake. or many people the Women's Institute is as English as cricket V on the village green but in fact the organisation was founded in the county was Tysoe , in April .1917. Newbold fol- lowod in July . 91?, 'Kinctou in " ' goptomber and v-H'arbury ' lumestpe in spring to mind are N eWSpaper clippings presented by Val Morton on behalf of Rowington Women's Institute 30 April 1997, while Visiting the Erland Lee Museum. Rowington, Warwickshire, England .1 ' . - By Sara Hurst. Canada; It was the brainchild of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless. an Ontario farmer's daughter, whose fourth child died of what she believed was hot own ignorance of basic by lone. delaide decided to organise classes and demon- strations in domestic'scienco 'and home crafts for rural {women through the local farmers' institute. The idea soon spread and it was decided to form a so a- ' rate women's institute. he first meeting took place on 19th February 1897111 Stoney Creek. Ontario. Soon there was a network of Women's Institutes throughout Canada and so veral attempts were made to in: on the idea to Britain. . ut they didn't mect with success until 1915, when the. first Bn'tish WI was formed in Llanfair, Angles'ey. North Wales. ' ' The movement, originally formed under the auspices of the Board of Agriculture, caught on very nicldy. . ' In 1919 t e institute became indepcndent of the:~ board, with resoonsibility falling to Wi's national and - county federations. By the end of that your there were 1,405 Wis in En land and Wales. ' 5 he Warwickshire Federa- * lion! was set up in 1918, by t. which time four Wis. all of them in South Warwickshire, mm ahead in being. ~ The first in Feb-- ,- 1/? y, 1e and the first things to 1 am and Jerusalem mm: W quick to point out i g w it's about. much . ' more than that. - . In the last few months alone W1 members in South Warwickshirc have enjoyed talks at their monthly meet- ings on the work of customs and excise officers against smuggling. television moni- toun 'd . I music hall tobesetii in ratings, the . down their noses at the WI thinking it's a lot of old fogeys and it's all jam and Jerusalem but it's not like that at all, it's very up to date." Beryl says that as well as talks and activities, Hnselor members get involved in competitions and have won ' the Warwickshirc Fire Service quiz two years on the trot. ' "We enter most things, ' although we are only a small village," she acids. . But she points out there is also a serious side to the WI. One of the aims of the organ isation is to educate women and it has its own college, Dcnman College, in Marcham, Oxfordshire. ' Like many other Wis, Huselor offers a bursary for members to stud at the college, which of crs some 400 courses in a huge range of subjects. The WI also takes an interest in social and public affairs. " v Beryl has been a delegate at the WI'S, national conference, where every year it discusses and adopts resolutions put forward by the county federa- tions. The Wl's national execu~ , tive committee then cam- paigns on those issues and their work means that some- times secs these ideas enshrined in law. Resolutions last earl included calling on the ov- ernmcnt to reinstate a realistic grant for higher education students from limited income ' families, ' making NHS dental ' V ' sull'janii'iand Jefiisalom hut . it's 111:6 that at a] treatment available to everyone and making cooking. nutrition and pnr~ outing skills part of the National Curriculum. Even if the resolutions are not immediately acted on by the authorities theybecome yanofWIpolicy. ' or example, the WI first agaénst mixed Garnet Aloe and Klnwarton Wl president Jean Blnghain, left, and vice president Sue Andrews, right, toast the flag which was raised to celebrate the cente- nary oi the WI. Members of the Women's institute gath~ erect yesterday (Wednesday) for a sherry and coffee morning at Great Alno village hall as part of the oelebm-- lions. Great Alna and Klnwarton WI celebrated their own 75th birthday last October. prostate cancer. But this campaigning: zeal is nothing new: the I was concerned about marine pol- lution in the 19205 and was the organisation behind the Keep Britain Tidy movement 40 ears ago. . t e W1 is also repre- . seated on the Warw1ck~ V 5. It's a good organisation. A 101: (if people look " innocuous at the WI thinking its a lot of ' shire Rural Community Council, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England and the Warwick- sltire Wildlife Trust. Jean Bingham, president of Great Aloe and Kinwnrton WI, agrees the WI can have its serious side although the organisation is friendly. ' "The W] offers friendship. that's one of the most impor- tant thin 3. We're a caring group outladies but We are .8180 ,_,inte ted in social Tm, . embers have been dis~ ,' robicms oftrans- cularly in the rural GNZIQ'MQO » community. "We do get involved in serious matters; we try to help - the community as a whole." Great Aloe and Kinwarton WI members have helped in historical research projects about the villages and members raise money 'for, charity. ' L ' ' ' The W1 branch * celebrated its 75th anniversary last . October and one of ' the founding mem- ; hers _was Jean's grandmother. The branch is planning a .tapesuy ' wall hanging for Great Aloe. ,arish ° church ,idep cting . the vvillugo and ' neighbouring Kin~ - ; wanton to the annivcrs . 1 The bill-lynch also organises an annual produce Show for the villages. which has been running for 1?. yours. Om: common mth about the W1 is that it's packed with elderly women but there are 7 younger members and it is evening meetings which often attract workin mums. .Jenn says real; Aim: and Kinwarton is articularly lucky in that it as a good spread of ages. There is one ocoasion houover when the Want/ick- shi're members dip into the past and that is at the county contentious when members raise the roof with the hymn Jerusalem. '1 v.