Continuing with the work Assistants have been undertaking to summarize the archive’s oral history recordings, I have been listing to an interview with Nancy Clarke from 2015. Nancy had kindly shared her time with us to recount her experiences with the Women’s Institute in the Wark area.
Nancy joined the WI aged 16 in 1933 at the Carham and Wark branch. Before cars were common, life in rural Northumberland could feel far more isolated. Nancy’s mother had never been a formal member because the three-mile journey to meetings was too much after a long day of work but she did sometimes help friends with organizing the activities. Likewise, Nancy’s work friends were members and invited her to a meeting just to see whether she would enjoy it. Despite the formal atmosphere the Institute provided an opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people with the social nights providing a particular highlight. These social nights required a lot of planning but routinely featured concert parties, poetry, song and guest speakers sharing their knowledge.
A typical meeting could involve lectures on subjects such as health, cookery and raising children. In the early days meetings could be quite dry and formal so Nancy could be shy to contribute but over the years the organization grew more friendly and inclusive, giving members the opportunity to chat, especially during tea-breaks. More craft skills were introduced which included dressmaking, quilting, decoupage and cake icing, skills which Nancy used for friends.
During WW2 the WI members of Carham met each day to make jam for the war effort. The sugar was provided, the jars were sterilized and members brought along any fruit they could find including raspberry and rhubarb. Members also knitted socks, scarves and balaclavas which proved difficult work at night in blackout conditions. Nancy felt her main contribution to the war effort was looking after two boy evacuees from Tynemouth who stayed until long after the war.
The WI arranged a full-day outing every year with a meal at the end. In some years they would also go on a Mystery Tour which provided a lot of fun for members, guessing where the destination would be for bets of 10p which would go to the winner. Trips included a Tyne cruise from Newcastle and places in Scotland.
Nancy gradually advanced through the ranks of the WI becoming an Assistant and Vice President before attaining the role of President. She had remained shy but, supported by a professional and caring committee, found the ability to speak up for herself which helped with her duties welcoming and encouraging new members and leading the meeting ceremonies. She had skills and experience at Denman College and fondly recalled the experience of attending the Annual General Meetings at the Royal Albert Hall and the power of the spectacle of the uniformed choir singing Jerusalem.
When Nancy retired in 2014 she had been President for 40 years and witnessed massive change. Her contribution was recognized with an English Heritage “Care in the Community” award for the Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria area. Her most proud moment, however, was the night of her 90th birthday when a talk from her son David as guest speaker concluded with a surprise meal and entertainment.
Taken from an oral history, NRO T-959 (NRO 10888), Womens Institute
Do you have any records relating to land girls up to 1951 near Hexham.
Hello, we will pass your enquiry on to our researcher. Thank you.
trying to make contact with anyone in Northumberland England about desendets who were born there in 1653