Sauchie-based Women's Guild branch closes after 112 years

The last members of Newtonshaw Co-op Society Women's Guild said their goodbyes during a lunch at the Royal Oak in Alloa on Monday, April 3, marking 112 years of the society.

The branch, which started in 1911 and was meeting weekly in Sauchie Hall and latterly at Sauchie Resource Centre, closed at the end of the session along with the five remaining Scottish Co-operative Women's Guild branches which still stood.

Members of the Newtonshaw guild explained how the Scottish Co-operative Women's Guild started in 1892 in Kilwinning, quickly growing and forming more than 100 branches.

Some of the last members had been in the guild for more than 50 years, originally joining with their mothers.

At one point the guild in Clacks had 44 members, which dwindled to just 14 in latter years.

TIMES ARE CHANGING: The Newtonshaw guild closed for good after 112 years - Pictures by Ben Montgomery Photography

Guild secretary Marlene McIntosh explained that at a meeting in Glasgow, it was decided all five remaining branches, two in Ayrshire and the same in Fife along with the one in Sauchie, would be closed.

It came due to a lack of members as well as health and age problems for those still remaining.

The guild was an opportunity to partake in social life, attend events and discuss issues – at its roots, it is understood co-operative societies were a driver for social revolution in Scotland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Indeed, women's guilds in the early days discussed issues such as female suffrage, the need for policewomen, the effects of unemployment, wages and more.

Mrs McIntosh told the Advertiser: “Oh, it's going to be missed, it's been around for 112 years – some of our members have been in it for 50, 60 years, they went to the guild with their mothers and they are in their 80s now.”

She will always remember the annual congress each May, hosted by a different guild across Scotland, which was a great opportunity to visit places and meet new people.

TIMES ARE CHANGING: The Newtonshaw guild closed for good after 112 years - Pictures by Ben Montgomery Photography