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The first Women's Institute (WI) in Britain was founded in Wales in 1915. John Nugent Harris, secretary of the Agricultural Organisations Society (AOS) had been hoping to involve more countrywomen in the work of AOS with little success. It was not until he met Margaret (Madge) Rose Watt (Mrs Alfred Watt) that he heard about the Women's Institute movement that had started in 1897 at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada and grown into theFederated Women's Institutes of Canada, that he found what he wanted. Nugent Harris persuaded AOS to appoint Madge Watt to try to start WIs in Britain. The first British WI was formed at Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, Wales, on 11 September 1915. The first WIs to be formed in England were at Singleton in Sussex andWallisdown in Dorset.
The organisation grew rapidly and AOS employed other organisers to help Madge Watt. The AOS set up a Women's Institute Committee to oversee the work and appointed the young Lady Denman, to chair the group. In 1917 the administration of the growing WI movement was transferred to the Board of Agriculture. It became part of the Women's branch of the Food Production Department, which also organised the newly formed Women's Land Army.
On 16 October 1917, representatives of 60 of the 137 existing WIs met at Central Hall, Westminister, to accept these changes and to set up the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI). All WIs were to be self-governing and self supporting bodiesaffiliated to NFWI. They elected a central committee of management (later to be called the National Executive committee) and Lady Denman was elected as Chairwoman, a post she held for the next 29 years. From 1917 until 1919 WIs played an important role in educating members in domestic science and increasing the production and preserving of food.
Women's Institutes were formed in Scotland and Northern Irelandindependently to those in England and Wales. The first Women's Rural Institute started in Scotland on 26 June 1917, and Madge Watt travelled up from London to speak to a meeting at Longniddry. After the end of the Great War, Madge Watt returned to Canada, where she continued as an activist for the interests of rural women. In 1930 she founded the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).
After the end of the First World War, the Board of Agriculture withdrew its sponsorship, although the Development Commission financially supported the work of the forming of new WIs and gave core funding to NFWI until it could become financially independent. By 1926 the Women's Institutes were fully independent and rapidly became an essential part of rural life.
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