The St Clement branch was the first to open in the Island, just two years after the Liberation in 1945 and half a century after the first ever branch opened in Canada in 1897.
The celebrations started earlier this month with a welcome speech given by Pauline Daly, the president of Jersey’s WI, and were followed by talks given by two members about their memories of the institute over the years.
Mrs Sarah Waymouth – whose mother, Sarah Willcox, was a founding member – spoke first and was followed by the branch’s longest-serving member, Pamela Renouf, who has been with club for 70 years.
The all-women’s singing group The Hot Bananas provided the afternoon entertainment, while the members enjoyed an afternoon tea with a specially made birthday cake.
Mrs Renouf said, for her, the most important part of being a WI member had been the friendships she had forged over the years and the reliability of her co-members.
‘If you ask someone to do something in the WI, you can forget about it, because it’s a yes and will be done,’ she said.
She added that in the Institute’s earlier years, people were never addressed by their Christian names.
‘It was always Mr and Mrs back then,’ she said. ‘It was a bit countrified, you could say. Time wasn’t as occupied as it is nowadays.
‘Wives didn’t all need to go to work. Now they have to. Women had more time to pursue different interests back then.’
