Former members of Citizens Advice Wokingham welcomed back to celebrate 80th anniversary

The first chair of the management committee Dennis Eyriey and volunteer Jackie Jones visited the office on Thursday, February 14.

As part of the celebrations Citizens Advice Wokingham (CAW) have been reminiscing on the charities progression.

Jackie was a member of the first set of volunteers and has been remembering her experiences.

She said: "I was informed by a friend on the Town Council about Citizens Advice, because she knew I’d be interested, owing to my background in benefits. I’d been involved with the Volunteer Bureau before.”

"A lot of the time, members of the public would come in with local enquiries about where the nearest loo or chemist was.”

CAW first opened in 1977 and was originally called the Wokingham Citizens Advice Bureau.

She added: “There were very few appointments. Most people came off the street to make enquiries. Their numbers built up quickly, and we were pressed for time because the service was proving so popular.

“The advice we gave was good, but not delivered as quickly as it can be now.”

Dennis Eyriey, the former chair of the management committee also joined Jackie on the special visit.

He said: “We had to beg and borrow money for computer systems, which were being introduced at the time.

“You’ve got to keep records much more now than what used to be the case. We had no computers to start with, just a few record cards.”

The visit is part of the charities long-term initiative to commemorate the anniversary.

Jake Morrison, chief executive for Citizens Advice Wokingham, said: “As the 80th anniversary of the first Citizens Advice service approaches in September 2019, we will continue to look in to the history of our charity here in Wokingham.

“It was great to welcome both Jackie and Dennis back to the charity to visit our current team and share stories.

“It is remarkable how so much of our work is similar to today.”

For more information, visit: //citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk/.