The Women's Institute--Early Days.
The Inaugural Meeting of the Manfield WI was held on 21st March 1920 where it was unanimously decided that a WI was desirable. The most appropriate venue was the school.
Present were
Mrs May Wilson (Chair)
Mrs and Miss Whitaker
Mrs Ryan
Mrs Herring
Miss Skelhorne
Mrs Lee
Miss Lightfoot
Mrs Keenleyside
Miss Brown
Mrs Fothergill
Each member present undertook to canvas part of the village to encourage others to join.
This early pattern set the style of meetings for the ears that followed.
Another feature that began in early days was the talk given by a visiting speaker.
At the meeting held on April 21st one proposal was to buy fish collectively from Irwin and Shaw Ltd. Of Fleetwood and to look into the possibility of exhibiting on the WI Stand at the Royal Show.
At the meeting held on May 5th the Rev. A.P.Starling gave a talk on Poultry keeping which was much appreciated. The meeting on Nov 3rd confirmed there should be a Xmas Social and that each member is given 4 shillings (20p) to provide refreshments for 6 people. At the social there would be a whist drive, dances and games.
In October of 1921 an anonymous donation of £75.00 allowed an ex army hut to be bought for the WI and this was erected on the site of Four Oaks. Lady Milbank opened it in 1922. It continued to be used until 1970, It was large enough to accommodate a dance floor, cloakrooms and kitchens and was heated by a coal fire.
Hence, within two years of the WI being inaugurated it had its own hut and the infra structure--Mrs Rhodes was appointed caretaker being paid one shilling for clearing up after a meeting and five shillings to clean after a Whist Drive and Dance. The caretakers fee was raised to 2/6d a month in 1923.(12.5p) At that time the weekly wage for a farm worker was £1.50--£2.00 a week or £6.00--£8.00 a month plus house.
There was also a vigorous campaign to ensue the success of the WI and its new hut.
The age for joining the WI was lowered from 18 to 16.
Major Whitaker was asked to be Treasurer and to handle the Share Account.
Those who could afford to do so were asked to put £1.0.0 to this scheme £10.00 pounds was put aside to pay interest charges and insurance.
At the meeting of may 10th there was a debate about buying a piano but the decision was deferred until May21st when one was bought for £21..10.0 .
The proposal was also made to lend the Institute free of charge but charge 5.0 shillings for the use of the piano to the following: the Reading Room, the Church, the Nursing Association, the School and Football club.
(the piano, un-played for years, out of tune and stricken with damp ended its days on the Village Bonfire of 1999.).
There was also a tennis court on the East Side of the hut and provision had to be made for paying half of the upkeep costs. The WI should receive 2.6d (12.5) from each subscription.
The minute books continues to give a record of village life through the years and in their way reflect national events.
1921 The May Meeting had to be cancelled because the visiting speaker could not reach Manfield because of the National Railway Strike. In the summer of the same year an open-air meeting was held at the Big House as Manfield Grange was then known as and continued to be until the 1950's.
1936 Dr Hickey--the Gainford Doctor--gave a talk on the life and work of Lord Lister. In February Lady Millbank gave a cine Kodak lecture 'Touring in India' while in March Air Commodore Goodman of Smeaton instructed members on how to wear gas masks. The Birthday Party in May featured fashions of '40 years ago'.
1939 Mr Smith from Moulton gave an illustrated lecture of 'A cycle tour of the Wye Valley and a part of the Welsh Mountains'. Leeds University wrote to say they no longer did Vegetable bottling so could not help. Instead the members opted for a demonstration of how to make crystallized fruit.
The War imminent the WI's were to play their role in giving practical instructions and advice particularly on food preparation and preservation.
The shortages that were to come with rationing--unforeseen in 1939--meant that Britain had to become as self sufficient as possible. Imported goods were in very short supply or non existent by 1941--sugar, oranges, bananas, bananas. Meetings of the WI reflect these realities.
The meeting in July discussed plans for evacuees and names were taken for home nursing courses or gas instruction. In September a letter was read out from the Yorkshire Federation encouraging the WI's to continue and suggested bandage making and other work to aid the war effort. In 1940 a donation was sent to the Harrogate Ambulance Fund, and in particular ways of preserving foodstuff was looked at salting vegetables and pulping fruit were the subjects of talks in 1940.