Short History of Whickham U3A
In the autumn of 1994 Edna Proud decided that Whickham would be able to support its own U3A and she went to Ponteland U3A to find out more about the movement. Edna subsequently asked the members of a group she attended in Whickham if they would support her efforts by becoming a steering committee. Other people were also drawn in and a local Rotary Group donated £30 to assist with the expenses of a public meeting which was held in St. Mary's Centre on 8th March 1995.
The launch on 8th March 1995 was attended by 90 people of whom 49 became members immediately. Edna Proud became Founder Chairman and it was decided that the name of the U3A should be Whickham District U3A, later changed to Whickham and District U3A. By the end of September 111 members had enrolled.
A monthly coffee morning began as an experiment and never stopped! At first the coffee morning was to be a purely social event where members could meet and get to know members from the various groups. It was always well attended. Now the coffee morning sadly due to lack of support does not exist.
Whickham and District u3a Group continues to thrive and at the end of 2022 has 136 members.
16 individual Interest Groups associated with Whickham and District u3a are thriving.