District 12 Inner Wheel

PAST DISTRICT CHAIRMEN'S CIRCLE

Chairman 22 to 2023 Hazel Hedges

It would be wrong to call this a Club within a Club, but there is a group of ladies who meet approx. quarterly over lunch to maintain their links of friendship. Each one has given her time and expertise to maintain and develop the ethos of District 12 and each one has treasured memories of her time in office. We can boast a membership of 27 dating back to 1976. We are often asked what we find to talk about - but talking has never been a problem for us! The truth of the matter is that we talk about virtually anything OTHER than Inner Wheel. 

Hazel Hedges took over as Chairman of the PDC's Circle in March 2022.

The Spring meeting of 2022 took place at Hempstead House Hotel at Bapchild. 14 members were able to come and we enjoyed a delicious meal. Hazel and her car-full was delayed by a major traffic accident and instead of arriving for coffee at 11am, didn't arrive until 12.30. The hotel kindly put back our dining time to enable those who were late to catch their breath before lunch.

We met again on 12th July 2022, at Montalbano's in Tenterden, where we enjoyed a delicious meal, and were very pleased to see several members who had previously been unable to come due to not driving any more. We have decided that it will be completely acceptable to have a friend drive a member who is unable to drive, so that she may not miss the companionship and fun of meeting old friends. Sadly, we held a minutes' silence for our erstwhile 'publisher of programmes and directories', Joan Pettit, who had passed away following a stroke and a short illness.


Sadly, we too have been affected by the recent lockdown, but we nurture our friendships from afar and look forward to the day when we can meet again.

We have rejoiced at the presentation of a well-deserved Margarette Golding award to one of our circle members. Congratulations, Betty!

17 of our members met together in July via Zoom for an Afternoon Tea and enjoyed an update on their fellow members' activities, before managing to chat in smaller, randomly selected groups. It was time well spent and enjoyed by all.

A number of us met on 7th October at Montalbano's in Tenterden for lunch. It was so lovely to be able to see people face to face for the first time since the beginning of the 'Lockdown'.

10 of us and Jane Styles met at Christmas at Bartella's, Meopham, where a very good festive meal was enjoyed.




District 12 Chairmen from 1932 to the present day

1932-1934 Mrs. Webber 1934-1936 Mrs. Price1936-1938 Mrs. Billingham

1938-1939 Vera Rice 1939-1942 Mrs. Valon 1942-1943 Mrs. Austen

1943-1945 Mrs. Lumley-Robinson 1945-1946 Mrs. Wilkinson 1946-1947 Mrs. Lack 1947-1948  Mrs. Fletcher 1948-1949 Mrs. H. Featherstone  1949-1950 Mrs. A.F. Mullock 1950-1951Mrs.  J.T. Davison 1951-1952 Mrs. T.C. McIlroy1952-1953 Mrs. H.E. Kettle

1953-1954 Mrs. H. Lester 1954-55 Mrs. Sylvia Moore 1955-56 Mrs H Cloke
1956-57 Mrs C.M. Bradley 1957-58 Mrs L.A. Gripper

1958-59 Mrs. L. Lack 1959-1960 Mrs. D.C. Hammond-Williams 
1960-1961 Mrs. Ivy Bowen 1961-1962 Mrs. K. Campbell-Mackenzie 
1962-1963 Mrs. D. Anderson 1963-1964 Mrs. F. Newman 
1964-1965 Mrs. D.S. Maclachlan  1965-66 Mrs. Violet Barden  

1966-1967 Mrs. H. Smith 1967-68 Mrs. Elsie Kean 1968-69 Mrs.  Thelma Heddle

1969-1970 Mrs. Lena Morton 1970-1971 Mrs. R. Proudler 1971-72 Mrs. Sybil Hole 1972-1973 Mrs. H. Hail 1973-74 Mrs. Freda Oakes 1974-1975 Mrs. M.Chatfield 

1975-76 Mrs. Eda Lord 1976-1977 Betty Selfe 1977-78  Audrey Hammond

1978-1979 Audrey Sarjeant 1979-80 Jean Jolliffe 1980-81 Mrs. Kay Polley
1981-82 Min Gutteridge 1982-83 Jan Wicks  1983-84 Ann Smith

1984-85 Valerie Blackman 1985-86 Mrs. Kathleen Vesey  1986-87 Rita Walsh

1987-88 Valerie Martin 1988-89 Yvonne Khan 1989-90 Barbara Barber 

1990-91 Aline Boswell  1991-92 Joan Pettit 1992-93 Wendy Smith 

1993-94 Elizabeth Weaver 1994-95 Pat Stokes-Mason (Robson)  1995-96 Joan Knight 1996-97 Edna Bennett 1997-98 Gwen Banks 1998-1999 Diana Taplin 

1999-2000 Ann Dunmore 2000-2001 Barbara Bingham

2001-2002 Freda Hampson 2002-2003 Pauline Knill 
2003-2004 Marion Luckhurst 2004-2005 Valerie Procter  

2005-2006 Elizabeth Jackson  2006-2007 Patricia Fletcher

2007-2008 Beryl Pendlebury-Green (Simmonds) 2008-2009 Sheila Cragg 

2009-2010 Margaret Hawkins 2010-2011 Frances Allen 2011-2012 Elizabeth Martin 2012-2013 Lynn O'Meara 2013-2014 Judith Cooper 2014-2015  Sheila Grainger

2015 -2016 Hazel Hedges 2016 -2017 Dot Boardman 2017-2018 Ruth Portway

2018 - 2019 Joan Styles 2019 - 2020 Elizabeth Lister 2020 - 2021 Christine Davies and Sheila Cragg (jointly)


International Convention 2015 held in Copenhagen


An intrepid group of PDCs accompanied District Chairman Sheila Grainger (seated left) to the International Inner Wheel Convention in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pictured at their Gatwick Hotel prior to an early flight the next day: L to R: Edna Bennett, Wendy Smith, Elizabeth Weaver, Elizabeth Jackson, Barbara Bingham and Elizabeth Martin (seated). PDC Sheila Cragg took the photograph. Their verdict on the Convention? A great time had by all – with new friendships forged and many old ones renewed!
6 PDC's and 1 DC At the Courtyard by Marriott 2015 Convention trip