On 2 November 1938 the local committee recommended that a Midland Branch be set up, and this very first Branch of the Institution was to comprise of the 11 counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
The Branch boasted a membership of 70 at its inauguration. The first Branch Chairman was Lt Col JE Blackwell DSO, County Surveyor of Leicestershire, who was the President of the Institution from 1934 – 1937.
After World War Two, the Institution membership grew. The Midland Branch was divided in two, with the formation of the West Midland Branch in 1965 leaving the present area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as the Midland Branch. During these latter years, the Branch ran some very successful meetings and symposia.
During the late 1980's, the Midland Branch compiled a short history, which was released as part of the menu and programme of the 1988 Annual Dinner, and which is included here below within this record:
Midland Branch - 50 years at the Hub
The social side of the Institution is extremely important, and the Branch paid proper attention to this with non-technical visits and activities. The Branch was offically renamed the CIHT Midland Branch when the Institution gained Royal Chartership in December 2009.
In 2015 CIHT’s 18 UK Branches were restructured to 12 Regions to match the boundaries of the Devolved Nations and the English Regions. On Tuesday 27th April 2015 the Middle Branch became CIHT East Midlands.
