THE first reference to a needle was in the first book of the Bible. In Genesis it says that 'Eve sowed together an apron of fig leaves to hide their nakedness.'

This was just one of the interesting facts imparted at the August meeting by Mr Bernard Lee, who worked in the needle industry for 45 years and since his retirement in 1980, has been researching the industry.

The group heard how the needle has developed since then, with the first needles being a slither of whittled hardwood, moving through to bone, ivory and antler, then iron and finally, in the 16th century, steel needles became the norm. Village blacksmiths made needles for their community, often sharing one needle between many families, making it a treasured item.

There was no needle industry to cope with the demand so Queen Mary I, who had a Spanish mother, brought in an expert from Toledo, Spain, who taught some men some of the processes, leaving the finishing to him. Alas, when he died, the needle industry again died out and it was back to the trusty old blacksmith, until the industrial revolution of the early 17th century when Queen Elizabeth I allowed the Huguenots from France to settle here.

During the early 18th century the Johnson family from Long Crendon settled in Studley and from then the cottage industry grew. Then in the mid 19th century the demand for surgical needles grew.

In the 1900s there were 3,000 people making needles, employed by companies such as Henry Millward, John James and British Needles and this was when diversification into the manufacture of fish hooks and tackle, followed by springs, was undertaken.

Needles today are machine made, undergoing 12 different processes and in Studley 5-6 million domestic needles are made each week as opposed to 35 million at its height. Sadly, the demand for these needles is diminishing all the time.

However, with the rise in use of disposable surgical needles, for the most delicate of operations, there will always be a market.

The next meeting takes place on Tuesday, October 16 at the Parish Centre, Studley at 8pm. New members always welcome. Call chairman Mr A Lever on 852002 or secretary Mrs C M Dyer on 853998 for further details.