The Bures WI was formed
in July 1921, under the guidance of Mrs. Margaret Hitchcock.
During the inaugural year, 40 members enrolled.
By 1939, the membership
had increased to 84 with Mrs Hitchcock as the Vice-president
Mrs Hitchcock by then, had become chairman of the National Federation
of Women's Institute’s Organisation sub—committee.
She also served on the Executive Committee of the West Suffolk County
Federation.
Furthermore, she was also the editor of the County Supplement of the
national Womens Institute monthly magazine, Home & Country.
The meetings, were held
monthly in the Victory Hall.
At the onset of WW2:-,
President:- Mrs. Twitchett
Vice Presidents:- Mrs Hitchcock and Mrs Savoury
Secretary:- Mrs Snow
Committee Members:- Mrs. Walsh,
Mrs Stebbing, Mrs. Spurgin, Mrs. H. Clampin, Miss I. Webber, Mrs. Downing
and Mrs. G. Graves.
After the War, the WI held
their meetings in the Free Church
along the Croft.
Without any substantiating evidence, it seems Mrs Hitchcock rented the
property until the expense became to high and the WI moved to the Village
Hall around 1960
Rene Brown joined the WI in 1969 ( 48 years ago) when her mother was
still a member.
Rene distinctly recalls meeting at the Free Church.
THE WOMEN'S INSTITUTE (WI)
Mrs Margaret Hitchcock, of the famous local mill family, was another
magnificent organiser and it was she who in 1921 formed Bures WI which
started with 40 members and by the start of the Warit had over 80 members
meeting monthly in the Victory Hall which had been built in 1919 following
the First World War.
The primary concern was the education and entertainment of its own members
which included Mrs Lilian Woods.
By 1939 they had transformed themselves into a strong body of assistance,
support and concern for everybody and every good cause.
This band of women represented the true spirit of survival with an infectious
cheerfulness that really got things done and people involved.
The formation of their famous Jam Centre in 1940 was remarkably successful
after their National Federation reached an agreement with the govemment
to make off ration sugar available at an agreed price but for preserving
purposes only.
The Vicarage and church room were used for production and storage and
during that first year 1250 lbs of jam had been made. It was mainly
sold directly to residents but also tothe shops and the village British
Restaurant.
Over the next fouryears over 4000 lbs more were made and sold before
the enterprisewas wound up at the end of 1945 with a net surplus ofapproximately
£20 after paying off all loans...mainly for sugar.
It also demonstrated the value of garden fruit growing and the
abundance of collected wild fruits...blackberries being particularly
plentiful at the Ferriers gravel pits.
However, that was not to be their only major food supply effort since
in 1941 they threw themselves into pie making and their production reads
like a factory line.
The govemment sponsored ascheme to provide nourishing food for agricultural
workers who could be working in the fields up to 11 o'clock at night
when theclocks were put forward for 2 hours during Double Summer Time.
The WI were initially providing over a hundred people with harvestpies
but in 1942 the scheme was made available to all rural workersand production
of these started at the Jam Centre from where those entitled collected
them in the aftemoon.
The offer was made to extend beyond harvest time and I have discovered
from their records that 9000 pies were made in the 1942 season and the
£100 profit given to the British Sailor's Society.
For 1943 over 20.000 were sold. Production was stopped after the summer
of 1944. Some members also got involved in the collection of rose hips
which are very rich in vitamin C and were turned into Rose Hip Syrup
and made available to children to replace the citrus fruits which were
unavailable during the war.
They were paid was about 8p per lb and as far as I can work out the
eight hundredweight collected over four years would have eamed about
£60.00 in today's money. They also collected horse chestnuts...presumably
for animal feed...for which they were paid 3d for 4 lbs.
I have extracted this information from their minutes and Parish records
and have only touched on just someof the selfless work carried out by
these village ladies.
Except for the privileged classes, until the end of the First WorldWar
in 1918, women had not generally been credited with being capable of
or suitable to perform roles other than those of wives,mothers, and
domestic servants. With thousands of men leaving to fight in the First
World War they then became essential for the efficient functioning of
factories, workshops, offices, farms and life on the home front generally;
some trained and served in the forces themselves and became drivers,
mechanics and medics.
In 1918 the UK at last granted the Vote to women over the age of 30
but it took another 10 years before they received full equality with
men who had received theirs at 21. We must give great credit here to
Emmeline Pankhurst and her Suffragette movement formed in 1903 which
campaigned for full voting rights for women and brought about civil
disobedience, criminal damage and violent law breaking, which resulted
in imprisonments and subsequent hunger strikes.
So the Bures WI inherited a newly accepted power base for women and
their highly valued role and by the outbreak of the Second WorldWar
in 1939 all women had the full vote and the Bures branch had 18 years'
experience behind it and leapt into action!
Social barriershad been broken down and country women had begun to meet
as never before and become involved together in a whole range of new
activities which were liberating and enjoyable. Bures is as example
of the new change which came over the country and is still enjoying
its inheritance. Not withstanding the demise of most of the numerous
shops, the community benefits remain intact and many are stronger than
they were when I left the village. There remains a great longing for
the warmth of rural communities; 21 century'progress' fails to satisfy
the soul, so that's why we should nurture our countryside and heritage.
. .carry on Bures!
Reproduced from the book
"My name is John" by John Manning
If you can assist with any further historical information on the WI,
please us the Contact facility
Ref:- My thanks to Jean Baxter and to
Rene Brown for supplying information
Published 03/05/ 2018
