MISS February – one of the original pin-ups from ‘that’ WI calendar – attended the latest North Bovey Belles Women’s Institute meeting.

Angela Baker, aka Miss February, gave a first hand account of the fundraising project for her late husband that sparked hundreds of copies and award-winning blockbuster film and musical Calendar Girls.

Sarah Shorthouse, of North Bovey Belles WI, said: ‘We were transported from a wet and windy Dartmoor by Angela’s enthralling storytelling talents back to the Yorkshire Dales of 1999, when the story began of a few ladies from a Yorkshire WI who initially set out to raise a few pounds to buy a new sofa for the waiting room at the local hospital, in memory of Angela’s husband who had recently died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

‘Tired of the usual humdrum offerings of the usual WI’s yearly calendar, featuring local landscapes, they revisited an idea they had jokingly discussed amongst themselves of producing a calendar featuring WI ladies performing typical WI crafts and activities in the nude – carefully maintaining their dignity with strategically placed props!

‘They were convinced they would end up recycling a fair few unsold copies when they were advised to print a minimum of 3,000 copies to be cost effective.

‘By the end of that year they had sold 88,000 copies and today, 20 years later, they’ve raised over £5m for the Bloodwise charity, inspired a stage play as well as an award-winning blockbuster film with Dame Julie Walters playing Angela’s character, and a stage musical written by Gary Barlow.’

Sarah said the story captured the interest of the world’s press and the women travelled the globe, giving interviews and appearing at promotional events, but never losing sight of their original aim – to fund research into the disease that claimed the life of John Baker, Angela’s husband and friend and neighbour of the other Calendar Girls.

She added: ‘We were swept along by Angela’s story of incredible bravery, hilarious antics, and raw human emotions as she left us eager to hear more of her incredible experiences of the last 20 years.

‘Angela is now very happily married to Charles, a retired vicar who was a close friend of John for many years. And she still participates in her WI, as well as continuing to raise money in John’s memory.

‘Devon is home to one of Angela’s closest and oldest friends and it’s hoped she will visit the area and our WI again in the future, where she has endeared herself to all those who met and heard her speak. Truly, an inspiring woman.’