You may wonder why we sing Jerusalem at the start of our meetings.
According to www.thewi.org.uk , choosing Jerusalem as the WI anthem came as a result of a letter to the former WI membership magazine “Home & Country” prior to the 8th Annual General Meeting in 1924. Grace Hadow, Vice-Chair at the time, suggested its use after attending “Exhibitions or Council meetings at which the whole assembly joined in singing Sir Hubert Parry’s setting of Blake’s Jerusalem.” She pointed out that many WI members “would like to sing the song at the upcoming
After an impressive “performance” of Jerusalem at the AGM, the NFWI ran a competition for an ‘Institute song’ which ended in Jerusalem being chosen as the official Institute’s song.
Jerusalem had been used by the National Union of Suffrage Societies in the 1918 celebrations of women’s enfranchisement, and many of the leaders of the NFWI, including Grace Hadow, had been part of that struggle to win the vote for women.
By singing Jerusalem, the WI is marking its links with the wider women’s movement and its commitment to improving the conditions of rural life.