A Women’s Institute which survived more than 100 years has succumbed to the Covid-19 pandemic because members couldn’t use Zoom.
The Errol WI had seen membership decline in recent years but lockdown restrictions preventing face-to-face meetings were the final straw.
Only four of the 19 women left in the group were able to use online platforms such as Zoom.
And numbers dwindled to such an extent they had no choice but to close the Errol branch.
The group was set up in 1919 by a local Minister’s wife and held its final meeting 102 years later on Thursday, June 17.
Freda Scott was its secretary for several years.
She said: “It has just fizzled out. There used to be 50 or 60 members but soon there were only 19.
“We were a thriving institute until a few years ago.
“We had a meeting and our president asked ‘Do you want to carry on or not?’ and it was unanimously agreed that we would not.
“No-one wanted to be on the committee either and you need a functioning committee to make something like this work.”
Covid-19 impact
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic transformed the way in which organisations such as the WI could operate and communicate.
Across the world, in-person meetings have been cancelled and postponed with online platforms like Zoom temporarily taking their place.
Freda added: “Out of our 19 members, we had about four who could use Zoom.
“It was quite excluding for a lot of the members.”
Women’s Institute
The WI is a UK-wide organisation established in September 1915. It works to give women a voice and to be a force for good in local communities.
The first meeting was held in Anglesey and by 1918, 137 branches had opened across the country.
It was initially set up to rejuvenate rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.
It is now the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK.
The WI became a talking point in 2003 following the release of the film Calendar Girls.
Starring household names including Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie and Julie Walters, the movie follows members of the Knapely WI as they pose undressed for a calendar to raise funds for their branch.
The idea came following dwindling membership, which saw the fictional branch gain national media attention.