Dear NFWI,
You are 100 years old. Did you get a telegram from the Queen?
You are as important now as you were when you first started. Throughout the century, you have shaped the lives of not just women in the UK but the UK as a whole.
You started in a war that was thought to end by Christmas; when that was no longer the case, you united women as a generation of men were destroyed.
More than that, the second woman to be elected as MP - Mrs. Margert Winteringham - and the first British born female MP was a WI member, and honorary secretary to her group.
In the 1930s, you helped improve water supplies to villages, and helped pregnant women in rural areas get better medical treatment.
More than that, Nancy Tennant was sent by you, the NFWI, to the International Peace Delegate in Geneva, and you showed your support for the League of Nations which would later become the United Nations.
When war broke out again, you again united women. You not only created jobs by helping the Ministry of Food turn what would have been wasted food into canned food and jams, but you also helped take in many evacuees. The sheer number you took in saved countless lives, and helped to set up family allowances after the war. You even raised money for ambulances, created storage systems for the Ministry of Agriculture, and collected herbs for medicinal use. You even voiced your thoughts on equal pay for all genders.
Before you were even thirty years old, you had already seen two world wars, and helped countless lives. Your work was not over.
In the 1950s, you petitioned for parents to visit their children in hospitals. In 1954, you held an AGM about litter control, and you had a very special guest. WI member, the Queen Mother was present. This sparked the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
In the 1960s, you voiced concerns about radiation, toxic sprays, and nuclear testing.
Your story continues. You have voiced your opinions about a lot of political, social, environmental, and economic concerns. You have shaped the lives of people - not just women - throughout the UK and it could be argued that you helped shape the world too, especially with the role you played in supporting the League of Nations.
Even now, your work is not done. You campaign to save the bees - a species that is dying out for no known reason, but a species we rely on for vast amounts of food - and you still spread awareness on feminism, physical and mental health, inequalities and so much more. Not just that, but by having an online presence, you can reach millions more people than you have ever been able to reach in the past.
Your story is not over. Here's to the next hundred years.
With love,
Holly Lodge WI
You are 100 years old. Did you get a telegram from the Queen?
You are as important now as you were when you first started. Throughout the century, you have shaped the lives of not just women in the UK but the UK as a whole.
You started in a war that was thought to end by Christmas; when that was no longer the case, you united women as a generation of men were destroyed.
More than that, the second woman to be elected as MP - Mrs. Margert Winteringham - and the first British born female MP was a WI member, and honorary secretary to her group.
In the 1930s, you helped improve water supplies to villages, and helped pregnant women in rural areas get better medical treatment.
More than that, Nancy Tennant was sent by you, the NFWI, to the International Peace Delegate in Geneva, and you showed your support for the League of Nations which would later become the United Nations.
When war broke out again, you again united women. You not only created jobs by helping the Ministry of Food turn what would have been wasted food into canned food and jams, but you also helped take in many evacuees. The sheer number you took in saved countless lives, and helped to set up family allowances after the war. You even raised money for ambulances, created storage systems for the Ministry of Agriculture, and collected herbs for medicinal use. You even voiced your thoughts on equal pay for all genders.
Before you were even thirty years old, you had already seen two world wars, and helped countless lives. Your work was not over.
In the 1950s, you petitioned for parents to visit their children in hospitals. In 1954, you held an AGM about litter control, and you had a very special guest. WI member, the Queen Mother was present. This sparked the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
In the 1960s, you voiced concerns about radiation, toxic sprays, and nuclear testing.
Your story continues. You have voiced your opinions about a lot of political, social, environmental, and economic concerns. You have shaped the lives of people - not just women - throughout the UK and it could be argued that you helped shape the world too, especially with the role you played in supporting the League of Nations.
Even now, your work is not done. You campaign to save the bees - a species that is dying out for no known reason, but a species we rely on for vast amounts of food - and you still spread awareness on feminism, physical and mental health, inequalities and so much more. Not just that, but by having an online presence, you can reach millions more people than you have ever been able to reach in the past.
Your story is not over. Here's to the next hundred years.
With love,
Holly Lodge WI