Powys Montgomery Panel

Description

The 1940’s were largely dominated by World War II and austerity, and to reflect this the background to Powys Montgomery’s panel was dyed using onion skins which provided a colour typical of the war years, an era where the work of the WI was vital in keeping the country fed and the soldiers warm.

In the top left hand corner is an aeroplane in decoupage which was a familiar sight in the early part of this decade, it flies over a skyline of patchwork rooftops with the orange jewel work denoting the fires and the destruction of the bombing during the blitz. The silver beaded searchlights, rising up from the middle of the panel scan the sky for the aeroplanes.

To the right of the panel is a typical Montgomery schoolhouse in embroidery which shows
children wearing knitted socks and balaclavas carrying gas masks.

The various other school items such as ABC blocks a blackboard and easel and books indicate
that in 1943 members responded to a Government White Paper on Educational Reconstruction.
The NFWI sent a questionnaire to members asking: What kind of education do we want? 4,000 were returned and federation conferences were held and the results of the discussions sent to appropriate government departments.

The central piece of the panel, displayed within the outline of Montgomeryshire is testament
to work of the members during wartime; the table is laden with jams, vegetables, knitted socks and balaclavas, produced in papier maché, wet felting and crochet.

When war broke out the NFWI was invited by the Ministry of Agriculture to organise a Co-operative Fruit Preservation Scheme. Five hundred Dixie Hand sealers - or home canners - came from America, together with a complete Food Preservation Unit and oil stoves, preserving pans, tea towels, thermometers, jam jars, bottling jars, jam pot covers and special discs for pickles and chutneys. Between 1940 and 1945 more than 5,300 tons of fruit were preserved; that is nearly 12 million pounds of fruit, which might otherwise have been wasted, provided food for the nation.

Wool was allocated by the National Service Association and members knitted thousands of items for the troops. Behind the table, is a WI member dressed in typical fashion for the time with a wrap around pinny and her hair tied up in a head scarf. The badge on the table cloth is a later version of the WI badge depicting the English rose and the Canadian maple leaf with the letters WI replacing the dragon.

Below the outline of Montgomeryshire, which also forms the timeline, we see an image produced as a sketch, copied onto fabric, of a Land Army girl working with her horse. The image is surrounded by wheat sheaves in crochet. The Women’s Land Army was re-founded shortly before the outbreak of World War II, in June 1939, to provide extra agricultural labour. By 1943, more than 80,000
women were working in the LandArmy and they were nicknamed Land Girls. The Land Girls did a
wide range of jobs, including milking cows, lambing, managing poultry, ploughing, gathering crops, digging ditches, catching rats and carrying out farm maintenance work. Some 6,000 women worked in the Timber Corps, chopping down trees and running sawmills. Initially, Land Girls earned £1.85 for a minimum of 50 hours work a week. In 1944, wages were increased by £1 to £2.85.
However, as the wages were paid by the farmer, rather than directly by the state, it was difficult to ensure that everyone was paid properly.

Despite the difficulties of the war years there were many positives for the WI. In 1949 the Welsh Counties Committee (now known as the Federations of Wales Committee) was set up under the Chairmanship of Mrs Myfanwy Howell and in 1947 Marcham Park was purchased which became Denman College. Denman College is the WI’s own Residential and Day Adult Education College near Oxford. It is a graceful Georgian house, set in 17 acres of beautiful grounds, named after the first NFWI Chairman, Lady Denman. Over the years, most of the money needed to buy, develop and maintain the College has been raised by the members. Denman College opened its doors to WI members in 1948 and today offers a wide variety of day and residential courses in cookery, craft and lifestyle. The college is depicted by the two swans in embroidery and beading swimming on the lake within the grounds of Denman; the swan is Denman’s logo.

To compliment all the key items that took place during the decade, the panel also depicts items which are equally important to the Powys Montgomery Federation such as the tree in wet felting and knitting indicative of the Montgomery Oak, the sheep, lambs and poultry in various craft mediums representing local farming as well as essential items for day to day living during the
1940s. The timeline has been completed in fabric typical of Laura Ashley who was born and started her business in Carno, which is also where the first WI in Powys Montgomery was
formed. The federation badge is crafted using beadwork, French knots and appliqué. The swan swims on the River Vyrnwy holding an oak leaf in her mouth, indicative of the Montgomery Oak, the wall and gate represents Powis Castle, and the Dragon represents the fact Powys Montgomery Federation belongs to the Federations of Wales.