 Thus the EECS celebrated its 150 birthday in 2018.Attempts had been previously made to found a co-operative society in Ipswich in the 1840s and again in 1858, which lasted for five years before collapsing.However in 1867 George Hines organised a meeting in the music hall of the Falcon Inn, Ipswich where D. P. Foxwell, gave a lecture on co-operation.