06 July to 30 September 2018
Twenty Years of the Calendar Girls exhibition celebrated the phenomenal fundraising story of the W.I ladies who posed artfully with teapots, song sheets and buns.
The exhibition featured the memories and personal collections of the women involved, including photographs, posters and newspaper cuttings.
The inspirational story of the Calendar Girls is one known to people across the world. The creation of an alternative WI calendar to raise funds in memory of John Baker, grew into an international phenomenon.
Angela Baker was Miss February in the original calendar; her husband, John Baker, Assistant National Park Officer at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, died after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on 22 July 1998.
She said: “The Calendar Girl journey has been a roller-coaster ride. After John died I was devastated, but my friends were determined to do the calendar and to raise money in John’s memory for research into the causes and treatments of all types of blood cancers.
When we set out we had no idea of the success that awaited us. This exhibition shows some of the amazing events in which we have been involved. The money we raise goes to the charity Bloodwise and so far we have raised over £5 million pounds.
Out of something that was so tragic a great deal of good has come. I am sure John will be really pleased that we had our photographs taken!!”
