Aldeburgh Women's Institute Sports

Light-hearted sports on a breezy day for Women's Institute members at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

A relaxed atmosphere for absurd and friendly sporting competitions between members of the Women's Institute at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, filmed by Miss Basham. A large female crowd applauds the backwards egg and spoon race, sack race, slow bicycling, three-legged race and shambolic dressing up - it's all about the taking part.

Several 9.5mm films of 1930s Aldeburgh events survive which were filmed by Miss Mabel Lilian Basham and another woman amateur film maker. Miss Basham and her brother Captain Kenneth Basham were active members of Aldeburgh's music and dramatic groups. The Women's Institute movement originated in Canada in 1897 and the first W.I. meeting in Great Britain took place at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in Wales in 1915. During World War I, its aims were to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in food production. A century on, the W.I. continues enabling women to engage with new skills and activities and campaign on issues affecting themselves and their communities.