THERE has been a WI in Camelford for 80 years, and the ladies have been celebrating.

The group is fortunate to have, in their archives, the very first record and minute books starting in 1938, and they make interesting reading.

A hand-written list inside the record book contains 74 names.

The record book reads: “A public meeting was held in the Town Hall, Camelford, on Wednesday 16th February to consider the formation of a Women’s Institute. Miss Henmark (a County Voluntary Organiser) explained very capably the formation and the rules of the WI and it was unanimously decided to form a branch. President — Mrs Fisher, secretary — Mrs Neil, treasurer — Mrs Leese, were proposed and seconded.

“Ten more ladies completed the committee. It was proposed that the first meeting would be on March 21st at 7pm.”

So the committee met for the first time on March 21, 1938 to decide the meeting venue. The Chapel Street schoolroom was chosen for the first meeting and the fee would be five shillings.

The meetings would consist of a business part, followed by a social half hour with competitions and music.

The month of the AGM was set as March and, of course, the tea rota was drawn up. This was to be in alphabetical order by surname — all of the ladies were known and referred to as Mrs or Miss. The price of a cup of tea was to be one penny.

The very first speaker, a Miss Sedgwick from Truro, gave her talk on ‘food for health’ — nothing’s new, is it?

In the celebration of this wonderful landmark, some of the current members met on the steps of the same schoolroom where it had all started, for a photo opportunity. They then moved on to the Liberal Club, where they had tea, coffee, cake and biscuits, and had the opportunity to look at the original records.

Times have changed, but some things stay the same. The group still meet once a month; they still have a business meeting, followed by tea and biscuits; and they still have a speaker or an activity.

They are less formal as they use first names, they have coffee mornings and day trips, and they laugh a lot!

New members are always welcome. The next meeting is at 7pm in Clease Hall on Monday, April 16.