A Brief history of First Dorset Credit Union

A credit union is an organisation which loans sums of money to people and charges a fair level of interest. It is neither a ’soft touch’ nor a ‘hard sell’.

Charging reasonable interest on loans is important for ordinary people who do not have access to bank accounts or rich family members from whom to borrow money free of interest There were – and still are – plenty of residents of Dorchester in this category. You may be one of them. . . .

In the late 1980s, there were some church members who wanted to see an improvement in the prospects of those who lacked access to loans. Among these were Dorchester Poverty Action helpers. Led by Dr. Margaret Barker (left), a well-respected Quaker, it provided money to start the training of future directors and other senior officers in a credit union.

There were a dozen or so trainees who were willing to undergo the necessary legal and financial education to acquire this knowledge. Many Saturdays were spent in 1989 finding out all the ramifications of running a credit union. These students were from Anglican, United , Methodist and Catholic churches in Dorchester.

In due course, all the legal requirements having been met, the Credit Union started! Bob Kerr the initial President suggested the name First Dorset Credit Union, a name which foresaw the possibility of increasing the area of operation beyond the confines of Dorchester.

Starting a bank was not an easy adventure. It started with one weekly session in the United Church, South Street. Over a number of years, the sessions became every week day. It was possible to add areas of operation to cover most of Dorset.

Eventually First Dorset Credit Union bought No 40 High East Street, Dorchester, where staff were employed to deal with the complex functions of a credit union. The next step was to merge with a Wiltshire credit union. The joint venture was called Wyvern Savings and Loans. It was thus named to get away from the view that ‘Union’ was a political term. We owed no allegiance to any party or religion. Nevertheless Revd. Paddy King, a curate in Dorchester Benefice was appointed chaplain to help staff and volunteers as well as members.

(Photo source: Wyvern Savings and Loans)

The going was tough. It was well-nigh impossible to run a credit union of our size and make a profit. Changes in the way people dealt with banks- eg. using online banking – meant that the need for so many branches could be dropped.

The time came to make a decision to merge further, this time with Bristol Credit Union. It had the resources and access to cash to develop a credit union to serve the South West. Soon the name was changed to: ‘Great Western Credit Union’, where it rests to-day.

Many volunteers worked their socks off to establish and succour the growing First Dorset Credit Union. Many can still be found to-day, working for the good of the community in other enterprises. Some are even back working with Dorchester Poverty Action.

To learn more about the Great Western Credit Union, click here.