New WI launches in Worthing to give women the option of meeting in the afternoon

Worthing town crier Bob Smytherman joined the women at Worthing Seagals WI to read a declaration at the first meeting, held at Emmanuel United Reformed Church, in St Michael's Road.

The first meeting was held on a Wednesday due to the Bank Holiday but going forward, Worthing Seagals WI will meet on the first Monday of the month, from 2.15pm to 4.15pm.

Chris Hodges launched the WI as part of her new role as WI adviser, having been president at Worthing WI.

She said: "I trained as a WI adviser and have recently qualified. One of the roles of an adviser is to set up new WIs. Our evening group was up to 92 members and it was felt there was a need for an afternoon group.

"After an initial exploratory meeting to which 85 women turned up, we have now formed our new group. We have a committee of 11 and a programme for the coming year already organised.

"For our first meeting, we organised a beetle drive, which allowed our members to socialise. The town crier arrived to welcome our new group in Worthing and to read the Proclamation to the King."

The county has a total of 98 WIs and Worthing has a variety of groups – there are three for the centre of Worthing, one in Durrington and one in Findon Valley. There are also two in Rustington, two in Angmering, two in East Preston and one in Findon.

Chris explained the WI was started in Canada in 1897 to help women learn more about domestic science. The UK's first WI was formed in Wales in 1915 to help country women improve food production.

The first English WI was formed at Singleton and the West Sussex group still meets, at The Fox Goes Free. There is a plaque in the pub to commemorate the WI.

Chris said: "Initially, the WI helped women acquire new skills and traditional crafts were taught. During the Second World War, the WIs were asked to help with evacuation. They also set up a guild to help with food production and were given loads of sugar to preserve fruit. Hence the association of the WI with jam!

"The WI has always been a force to be reckoned with and every year, they select a resolution which becomes a mandate and forms the basis of campaigns for years to come. One of our most successful resolutions was about protecting the countryside. This resolution called for a campaign to ‘preserve the countryside against desecration by litter’, and subsequently led to the formation of the Keep Britain Tidy group.

"Today, the WI is the largest women’s organisation in the UK and it prides itself on being a trusted place for all women of all generations to share experiences and learn from each other. A WI membership offers the opportunity to meet women in your local area in person and virtually, to make friends, make a difference in your community, have fun and learn new skills.

"In 2023, we introduced WI Supporters Options as another way to engage with the WI movement without being a WI member. This is an alternative way to engage with our membership."

More information about the WI can be found at thewi.org.uk