A BATON that is being passed around England and Wales to celebrate 100 years of the Women’s Institute arrived in Basingstoke yesterday.

The specially designed baton started its journey in Anglesey on January 1, where the first WI meeting was held in the UK in 1915.

It then set off on its journey around the UK, where it will visit all 69 federations in England, Wales and the Islands to celebrate the centenary of the WI, before it finishes at Royal Albert Hall on June 2, where the institute’s annual meeting will be held.

The baton arrived in Basingstoke yesterday, at Cafe Dome in Brighton Hill, where it was welcomed by North West Hampshire MP Sir George Young and Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane Councillor Roger Gardiner.

Members from local WI groups will upload 12 photographs to a memory stick, which is stored within the baton.

Janice Langley, chair of the National Federation of WI, said: “It’s so exciting to launch the first of the many centenary projects planned to celebrate 100 years of WI. We can’t wait to hear what each federation has planned for their celebratory event, but I’m sure we will be continually amazed by members’ ingenuity and creativity.”

She added: “We can’t wait to follow the baton’s trip around the federations.”

For more on this story, see next Thursday’s Gazette.