Short answers, pulled from the story.
A friendly society is a mutual association formed for insurance, pensions, savings, or cooperative banking. Before modern welfare states and large-scale insurance companies existed, these societies provided financial and social services to individuals, often organized around shared religious, political, or trade affiliations.
The York Female Friendly Society was founded in 1788 by Faith Gray and Catherine Cappe. Gray and Cappe also ran schools for girls, and the society was designed to assist those girls as they reached adulthood.
The first mutual savings bank was founded in Scotland in 1810 and was called the "Savings and Friendly Society."
The Museum of English Rural Life holds a collection of over 900 friendly society brasses, also known as poleheads. These emblems were common in the west of England, especially Somerset, between the late 18th and early 20th centuries.
Ireland's 2014 Friendly Societies and Industrial and Provident Societies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act provided for the cessation of new registrations after officials found only three new societies had registered in the previous nine years. The form of organization was considered to have outlived its usefulness, with most remaining societies being public-service groups such as army, customs, gardai, and prison officers.
Australian friendly societies serve over 800,000 members. They were first established by community groups in the 1830s and are now regulated under the Life Insurance Act 1995 and registered with APRA, offering services ranging from insurance and savings to healthcare, pharmacies, and aged care.