Beatrix Potter 1866 – 1943

Beatrix Potter with Peter Rabbit

 Helen Beatrix Potter (better known as Beatrix Potter) was an English author, illustrator and conservationist.  She is probably best known for the Peter Rabbit series of books.

            Beatrix potter was born in London in 1866 to a wealthy family, with artistic parents who had a vast interest in nature and the countryside.  She had a younger brother, Bertram, and between them they had a number of pets they observed and drew constantly.  Their summers were spent in either Scotland or the Lake District, where Beatrix discovered her love of nature and began painting it from an early age.  She began art lessons in 1878 and was awarded an art student’s certificate for model and freehand drawing in 1880.

            In 1890, Beatrix bought her first rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer, later followed by another rabbit in 1893 whom she named Peter.  They would later become the inspiration behind her most beloved books.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit was first sent as a picture letter in 1893.  It was then published as a privately published edition, in black and white with illustrations in 1901, before being published commercially by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902.  The first Peter Rabbit doll, made by Beatrix herself, followed in 1903.  She was briefly engaged to her editor Norman Warne in 1905 until his sudden death from leukemia.  Grief stricken she fled to a life of solitary at a farm called Hill Top in the Lake District.  In 1909, she also brought the farm across the road, Castle Farm, soon becoming quite a prosperous farmer of the time.  

            Between 1902 and 1922, Beatrix wrote and illustrated many books featuring the animals she encountered in the countryside, with over 23 of them achieving publication.  She was also very active in conservation, and is credited with preserving the land which is now known as the Lake District National Park.

            In 1913, she married William Heelis, a country solicitor, much to the dismay of her parents who disapproved of the match.  They were happily married for thirty years but remained childless, devoting their time instead to farming and preservation.

            Beatrix Potter died in 1943 from complications due to pneumonia and heart disease.  She left nearly all of her property to the National Trust, who used her gift to preserve the lands now included in the Lake District National Park.  She also left the National Trust the original copies of many of her illustrations.

            In 1946, the Trust opened up Hill Top to the public and it has been popular with visitors from all over the world.  Not surprising when you think that this was the place where she drew inspiration for many of her beloved books.  The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction, also in the Lake Distract, is another popular destination for fans of Peter Rabbit and his friends.

Margaret Murray 1863 – 1963

Margaret Murray

’I have been an archaeologist most of my life and now I’m a piece of archaeology myself.’

Margaret Alice Murray was an English Archaeologist and Folklorist.  She was the first female lecturer of archaeology in the United Kingdom, when she worked at University College London (UCL) from 1898 to 1935.  She was also widely published over the course of her career and was president of the Folklore Society from 1953 to 1955.

            Born in Calcutta, Margaret divided her younger years between Britain and India and originally trained as a nurse and social worker.  She began studying Egyptology at UCL in 1894 and was appointed as Junior Professor in 1898.  She established her reputation in Egyptology in 1902-03, when she was part of an excavation expedition in Abydos, Egypt, where they discovered the Osireion Tempe and Saqqara Cemetery. 

            In 1908, she became the first woman to publicly unwrap a mummy during a lecture at Manchester Museum.  She also began to write books about Egyptology for a more public audience.  When the First World War stopped her from returning to Egypt, Margaret Murray changed the focus of her research to the Witch-Cult Hypothesis.  Her theory that the early witch-trials of modern Christianity were trying to extinguish the pagan religion were academically discredited, although they did have a big impact on the Wicca Religion. 

            Murray’s first book about witchcraft: The Witch Cult in Western Europe, was published in 1921, after she had conducted numerous field studies throughout Europe, with theories of how witchcraft and Pagan fertility cults extended back to the Palaeolithic era.  She managed to cause a lot of controversy amongst her peers who ridiculed her opinions.  This did not however deter her from continuing to study witchcraft as a sideline to her main career.

            Margaret Murray developed an interest in folkloristics when she undertook excavations of prehistoric sites on Malta and Minorca between 1921 - 1931.  She was appointed assistant professor in 1928 and awarded an honourary doctorate in 1927, before retiring in 1935.

            Although she has been widely acclaimed for her work in Egyptology, Margaret Murray’s work in folkloristics and the history of witchcraft has been largely discredited, leaving her with a tarnished reputation.  Her books on witchcraft are often still ridiculed today as having very little historic importance. 

            Margaret Murray died in 1963 at the age of one-hundred.  She will mostly be remembered for her academic contributions to the science of Archaeology and Egyptology, but it would be difficult to ignore the contributions she made to the early development of contemporary witchcraft.  She will no doubt be remembered as one of the most remarkable women of her generation.

Isabella Beeton 1836 – 1865

Isabella Beeton

Mrs Beeton has never really been allowed to die.  Instead she has entered the British consciousness as a standard of culinary – and moral – efficiency.

Isabella Mary Beeton (née Mayson) was one of the first and best cookery writers.

            She was born in London in 1836 and educated in Germany.  In 1856 she married a wealthy publisher, Samuel Beeton, and began to write articles on cookery and household management for his publication.  Including her half-sisters, Isabella had twenty-one siblings and as the eldest, she soon acquired a knack for household management, which she would later incorporate into her famous book.

            ‘Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management’ was first published in 1861.  The original book was a guide to managing a Victorian household.  It gave advice on child care, animal husbandry and the proper use of poisons (not for murder).  Mrs Beeton was also the first to highlight the use of seasonal and local produce, long before it became mainstream.  It also contained over 900 recipes, which is why it is also known as Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook.  The book was also the first to contain colour illustrations for recipes.

            Although she takes the majority of the credit for the book, Mrs Beeton was in fact the compiler and editor, many of the featured recipes belonging to other writers.  It was put together by Isabella as a source of information for inspiring middle-class homemakers. There was also advice on things like etiquette, entertaining and the employment of servants. The book was a huge success, selling over 60,000 copies in its first year and nearly 2 million by 1868.

            Isabella Beeton died of an infection in 1865, just a few days after the birth of her fourth child.  She was just twenty-eight years old.  

Margot Turner 1910 – 1993

Margot Turner

Dame Evelyn Marguerite (Margot) Turner, was a British Military Nurse and a Prisoner of War (POW) during World War II.

            Margot Turner became a military nurse during the 1930’s and her first overseas posting was over in the Far East.  In 1941 she was serving in a hospital in Malay, when the Japanese invaded she was evacuated with many of the other hospital staff to Singapore, until that was also raided in 1942.

            In February 1942, Margot was among many refugees from Singapore who sailed upon the small cargo boat, the Tanjong Penang, on route to Java.  The ship was sunk by the Japanese and Margot, who had been up on deck at the time managed to survive.  She made it to a raft, on which she managed to rescue sixteen people including six children.  Without food or water they soon died, or fell off the raft through exhaustion, leaving Margot as the sole survivor of her ship.  She was later picked up by a Japanese vessel and made a Prisoner of War.

            She was initially nursed back to health by some nuns and helped out in the operating theatre, until she was unexpectedly arrested by the Kempeitai (Japanese Secret Police).  This was followed by six months in a filthy cell, with the daily fear of joining those that were being tortured and executed, until she was finally returned to a prison camp.

            The next three and a half years were spent under the most appalling conditions.  With her medical training, Margot was able to tend to the sick and injured in the camp, although this was no easy task, seeing as they had no medical supplies or medicines.  The women were subjected to long hours standing in the hot sun during roll-calls (tenko’s), and the meagre rations of food they were given were extremely lacking in nutrition.  Many of the prisoners succumbed to diseases such as dysentery and malaria and were buried in shallow graves within the camp, by the women themselves.

            Despite the many hardships that they faced, morale within the camp was surprisingly high.  The women managed to brave their circumstances and refused to be defeated by their captors.  One of the more uplifting stories from camp life is that of ‘The Captive’s Hymn’, which the women used to sing to keep their spirits up.  The hymn would later be sung by Margot Turner and some of her fellow internees when they were re-united for an episode of the television series ‘This is Your Life’, when Margot appeared on it to celebrate her life’s achievements.

The Captive’s Hymn.

Father in captivity

We would lift our prayers to Thee,

Keep us ever in thy love.

Grant that daily we may prove

Those who place their trust in Thee

More than conquerors may be

Give us patience to endure

Keep our hearts serene and pure,

Grant us courage, charity,

Greater faith, humility,

Readiness to own Thy will,

Be we free or captive still

For our country we would pray

In this hour be Thou her stay.

Pride and selfishness forgive,

Teach her, by Thy laws, to live,

By Thy Grace may all men see,

That true greatness comes from Thee.

For our loved ones we would pray

Be their guardians, night and day,

From all dangers, keep them free,

Banish all anxiety.

Grant that nations loving Thee

O’er the world may brothers be,

Cleansed by suffering, know rebirth,

See Thy Kingdom come on earth.

After the war ended, Margot Turner continued with her work in the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps and rose to the rank of Colonel Commander, before her retirement in 1974.  She was awarded an MBE in 1946 and later a DBE in 1965.  She died in East Sussex, England in 1993.

Mary Rand – 1940 –

Mary Rand

‘Just an ordinary working mum who took part in the games as a hobby.’

Mary Rand, (née Bignal) MBE, was the first Female British Athlete to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

            Whilst still at school, the young Mary excelled at sports but was especially outstanding at High Jump, Long Jump and Hurdles.  In 1956, she was a guest of the Olympic squad at a training camp in Brighton, later setting a national British record of points in a pentathlon at the age of just 17.

            Mary’s first Olympic outing was Rome 1960, where she finished 4^th in the 80m hurdles.  She also finished 9^th in the Long Jump, despite setting a British record in the qualifying round.

            Then came the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where Mary Rand set an Olympic record in the Long Jump, (which would be broken exactly four years later) earning her a Gold Medal, the first ever won by a female British athlete.  She also took home a silver for the pentathlon, as well as a bronze as part of the 4x100 metres relay.  This also made her the only British female athlete to win three medals at one Olympic Games.

            Mary Rand also trained as an athlete during the sixties, when there was none of the big sponsorship deals that are given to athletes now.  As well as training to become the best in her field, she also had to hold down a job in a Guinness factory, in-between raising her family.  She usually worked an eight-hour shift before completing a two-hour round trip to her training ground. The fact that she did all of that, and still managed to win medals and break records, should be an inspiration to all hopeful athletes of the future.

            In 1964, Mary Rand was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.  Then in 1965, she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours List.  She was finally inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Frances Hoggan MD 1843 – 1927

Frances Hoggan

Frances Elizabeth Hoggan (née Morgan) was the first British woman to receive a doctorate in medicine.  She was also one of the speakers at the first Universal Race Congress in London in 1911.

            Frances Hoggan was born in Brecon, Wales and studied in Paris and Dusseldorf before receiving her medical degree from the University of Zurich in 1870, after completing a six year course in just three.  In mid-victorian Britain, women were not permitted to become university trained doctors, but an undeterred Frances passed the entrance exam to Zurich, which was the only university in Europe at the time to accept female medical students.  This led to her becoming not just the first Welsh woman, but also the first British woman to become a fully qualified doctor.

            Frances returned to London, where she specialised in women’s and children’s diseases.  Later she set up a general medical practice with her husband, Dr George Hoggan, whom she married in 1874.  Theirs was the first husband-wife medical practice in the UK.

            An active campaigner and social reformer, Frances also toured the United States giving lectures on racial issues, as well as campaigning against the lynching of Negroes in the south of the United States.  During this time, she also wrote several articles about the situations faced by the Afro-American people.  The most significant article she wrote was entitled, ‘American Negro women during the first fifty years of freedom.’  When the first Universal Race Congress was held in London, 1911, Frances Hoggan was one of the key speakers.

            Frances Hoggan was a determined woman who went after what she wanted, despite the odds being stacked against her, and was not afraid to speak out for the rights of others.  She died in 1927 and her cremated remains are buried in Woking besides those of her husband.

Elsie Widdowson 1906 – 2000

Elsie Widdowson

‘If your results don’t make physiological sense, think and think again!  You may have made a mistake (in which case own up to it) or you may have made a discovery.  Above all, treasure your exceptions.  You will learn more from them than all the rest of your data.’

Elsie Widdowson was a pioneer of the scientific study of nutrition.  She was also part responsible to the addition of vitamins to food, as well as over-seeing the rationing of food in Britain during World War II.

            In 1928, she became one of the first women graduates of Imperial College, London, achieving a BSc in Chemistry.  She achieved her PhD in Chemistry in 1931 after writing her thesis on the carbohydrate content of apples.  Widdowson also obtained a doctorate from the Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry at Middlesex Hospital, where she did further research into the metabolism of the kidneys.

            In 1933, she met Robert McCance in the kitchen of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where she was studying industrial cooking techniques as part of her diploma on dietetics.  They both realised that there were significant errors in the standard nutritional tables.  It was the start of a professional relationship that was to last sixty years.

            During the early 1940’s, their work on improving the nutritional value of our food began with the introduction of calcium into bread.  They would later introduce the addition of vitamins and minerals.  Widdowson and McCance would also be made responsible for the rationing of food during World War II, formulating it so that people received the best nutritional diet as was possible during the food shortages.

            Elsie Widdowson was also well known for testing out her nutritional experiments on herself, which were not always safe.  Elsie and Robert once injected themselves with Strontium Lactate (similar to calcium), to see how much of it would end up being excreted.  They both became ill with pains, fever and headaches due to the sample being contaminated with bacteria.

            Widdowson and McCance spent most of the working life in Cambridge, after being employed by the Medical Research Council in 1946.  That same year they visited Holland, Germany and Denmark to study the impact of the poor diet suffered by those in the Nazi-occupied territories.  Their consultation was also sought in the rehabilitation of the victims of the Nazi Concentration Camps, who were suffering from severe starvation.  Widdowson would later follow up this work in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, by studying malnourishment in Africa.  Her research showed a link between infant malnourishment and lifelong effects on growth and health.

            It was Widdowsons’ studies into the nutritional value and content of the infant diet, that led to the standards of breast milk substitutes in the UK being revised during the 1980’s, after her studies in the difference between natural and artificial human milk in terms of trace vitamins and minerals.

            Elsie Widdowson became the head of the Infant Nutrition Research Division at the Dunn Research Laboratory, Cambridge, in 1966.  Although she formally retired in 1972, she continued her research at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.  Widdowson was also president of several societies and foundations between 1977 and 1996.  She was also awarded a CBE for her work in 1979.

            Although she spent her life studying nutrition, she herself only ate a simple diet which consisted of butter and eggs.  Her long-life she attributed to her good genes, her mother lived to be 107.  Elsie Widdowson herself died in Addenbrooke’s Hospital following a stroke at the age of 94.

Elizabeth Fry 1780 – 1845

Elizabeth Fry

‘Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal.’

 Born in Norfolk in 1780 to a family of Quakers, Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney), was an English humanitarian and prison reformer.

            Elizabeth was just twelve years old when her mother sadly died, and she was required to care for her younger siblings.  By the age of eighteen, she had developed a keen interest in the poor and sick, even starting up her own Sunday school within the family home.

            At the age of twenty, Elizabeth Gurney married Joseph Fry with whom she had eleven children.  Many people would later accuse her of neglecting her domestic duties in order to pursue her other causes.

            A trip to Newgate Prison in London left her so horrified by the conditions that she was determined to encourage changes.  The women’s section was extremely over-crowded with the women being forced to sleep on straw, as well as cooking and washing inside their tiny cell.  Elizabeth encouraged members of the nobility to visit the prison to see the conditions for themselves.  She herself helped to provide food and clothing for them.  Her acts of kindness meant that Elizabeth soon gained the friendship and respect of the prisoners, who soon made steps to help themselves to improve the conditions they were forced to endure.  Elizabeth eventually managed to found a school to help educate the children that had been imprisoned with their parents.

            In 1817, Elizabeth Fry founded the Association for the Reformation of the Female Prisoners in Newgate.  This later led to the creation of the British ladies’ Society for Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners.  She was one of the first people to recognise that prisons should be a place for reformation not just punishment.  Elizabeth also became the first woman to give evidence to the House of Commons in 1818, when she put forward her evidence of the conditions of British Prisons.  Robert Peel was a keen admirer of her work, even helping to pass the Goals Act 1823, which was unfortunately unsuccessful due to the lack of inspectors needed to ensure that the work was carried out.  She also made regular visits to the convict ships that left England for Botany Bay.

            During the winter of 1819/20, Elizabeth Fry helped to establish a ‘nightly shelter’ in London to help the homeless after seeing the body of a young boy, who had frozen to death on the streets.  Then in 1824, she instituted the Brighton District Visiting Society.  Volunteers for the society made visits to the poor to provide them with help and comfort in their homes.  The plan was later duplicated in other districts across Britain.

            In 1840, Elizabeth opened a training school for nurses, becoming an inspiration for Florence Nightingale, who later used some of her nurses during her work in the Crimean War.  Elizabeth was a big supporter for vaccinations and was herself trained in administering them.

            Elizabeth Fry was well known in society and had many admirers of her work, including Queen Victoria herself who made many contributions to her work.  She died from a stroke in 1845, and was buried in the Friends Burial Ground at Barking, London.

            After her death, a meeting of people headed by the Lord Mayor of London, decided that an asylum should be opened in order to commemorate her life’s work.  The Elizabeth Fry Refuge was opened in Hackney in 1849.  It was funded by subscriptions from various businesses and individuals, as well as the income generated by the inmates through laundry and needlework.  Later also becoming a hostel for girls on probation for more minor offences.  After several more moves and mergers with other establishments, the refuge finally settled in Reading in 1958 where it still remains.

            Since 2001, the image of Elizabeth Fry has appeared on the back of the £5 (UK) note as a tribute to her work as a prison reformer.

Charlotte Bronte – 1816 – 1855

Charlotte Bronte

‘I’m just going to write because I cannot help it.’

Charlotte Bronte was born in Yorkshire, England in 1816, the third of six children.  She is one of the most popular female authors from the 19^th century, with her most famous work, ‘Jane Eyre’, still a major feature within the English Literature Curriculum.

            Charlottes’ father was an Anglican Clergyman and when her mother died from cancer in 1821, she left the care of her children to her sister, Elizabeth Branwell.  In 1824, Charlotte, along with her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Emily, attended the newly opened Clergy Daughters School in Lancashire.  Here they encountered a harsh regime, along with cold conditions and poor food.  They left the school in 1825, although the poor conditions they had endured led to Maria and Elizabeth dying from consumption shortly after.  Charlotte was deeply affected by the experience, which would later become the inspiration behind Lowood School, attended by Jane Eyre.

            By 1829, Charlotte had already begun to write, escaping into a literary world of fiction along with her two remaining sisters, Emily and Anne and their brother, Branwell.  She continued her education in 1831 when she enrolled at Roe Head in Mirfield, where she was to meet her lifelong friend, Ellen Nussey.  Her education was completed in 1832, although Charlotte was later to return to Roe Head in 1835, where she worked as a teacher until 1838.

            From 1839-41, Charlotte worked as Governess to a number of families in Yorkshire.  One particularly unruly child that she was in charge of would later become the basis for the character of John Reed.

            Charlotte and Emily travelled together to Brussels in 1842 to enrol in a boarding school, where they taught English and Music in return for their board and tuition.   Their stay was however cut short after the death of their aunt, which led to them returning to England the same year.  Charlotte returned to Brussels in 1843 to take up a teaching post, but soon found that she was unhappy and homesick.  She returned to England in 1944, the time spent in Brussels was later used as experiences for her literary work.

            In 1846, Charlotte, along with Emily and Anne, published a joint collection of poetry.  They used the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.  The choice to use aliases for their work came about because at that time, there was a lot of prejudice against female authors and the sisters felt that their work wasn’t exactly what many would consider to be ‘feminine’.  The book however failed to attract any interest, only managing to sell two copies.  Not to be disheartened, the sisters carried on with their own personal novels, still using their chosen aliases. 

            After her first novel, ‘The Professor’, was rejected, Charlotte Bronte published ‘Jane Eyre’ in 1847, under the name Currer Bell.  The gothic melodrama became an instant success, although once it was discovered that Currer Bell was indeed a woman, many considered it to be an ‘improper’ book.  Even so, ‘Jane Eyre’ still remains as popular today as it was when it was first published.

            In 1848, Charlotte began working on her second novel, ‘Shirley’, although work was soon halted by a series of tragic events.  Her only brother, Branwell, died from Chronic Bronchitis.  Emily became seriously ill soon after and died from Tuberculosis.  Anne was to succumb from the same disease in 1849.  Charlotte resumed writing her novel in order to escape from her grief, and ‘Shirley’ was published later that same year.  Her third novel, ‘Villette’, was published in 1853.

            Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854.  He had been her father’s curate and his middle name, Bell, was the reason behind the Bronte Sisters’ noms de plume.  Although Charlotte initially rejected his proposal, partly due to her fathers’ objections because of Nicholls’ poor financial status, she later accepted after some encouragement from Elizabeth Gaskell and her father finally gave them his blessing.  Their happiness was however cut short.  Charlotte fell pregnant early on and her health began to rapidly decline.  She died in 1855 from phthisis along with her unborn child. 

            Charlotte Bronte was interred in the family vault in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels at Haworth, where her father was Perpetual Curate.  Her first novel, the previously unsuccessful ‘The Professor’, was finally published posthumously in 1857.

Emmeline Pankhurst 1858 – 1928

Emmeline Pankhurst

‘We are not here because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.’

Emmeline Pankhurst was a political activist and leader of the Suffragettes.  She was born in Manchester where she worked as a Poor Law Guardian, finding the conditions she encountered in the workhouses to be shocking.

            In 1903, Emmeline founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), their motto was ‘Deeds, Not Words.’  It was their aim to promote equal rights for women.  They fought long and hard to gain women the right to vote, as well as equality in terms of divorce and inheritance.  The WSPU were a non-violent group making speeches, organising rallies and petitions, as well as publishing a newsletter entitled ‘Votes for Women.’  There was however, a more radical side of the group who opted for a more physical approach, smashing windows and assaulting police officers.

            Members of the WSPU were often arrested and imprisoned for acts of vandalism, including Emmeline Pankhurst herself, where it soon became part of their protest mission to go on hunger strike.  The effects of the constant force-feeding would affect her health later in life.

            Emmeline was joined in her quest by her daughters: Christabel, Adela and Sylvia, who followed in their mothers’ passion for women’s rights.  This was to change in 1913, when arson became part of the WSPU’s agenda.  Several prominent members left the group, including Adela and Sylvia.  The family rift that was created was never to be healed.

            When war broke out in 1914, Emmeline called a halt to all WSPU action.  She urged the women instead to help the war effort by maintaining the industries and helping out on the farms.  The suffragettes could not be pacifists at any price.  Emmeline encouraged the men to volunteer for the front lines.  She and Christabel were also leading figures in the White Feather Movement, handing out white feathers to any men who were able to fight but refused.

            One of her more controversial moments of the war came when she opened an adoption centre at Campden Hill, for ‘War Babies.’  She came under criticism for offering relief to parents of children born out of wedlock.  For Emmeline, it was the welfare of the children themselves that was her main concern, having had first-hand experience of their suffering during the time she had spent as a Poor Law Guardian.  The home was later turned over to Princess Alice due to a lack of funds.  Emmeline did however adopt four children of her own, despite not having a steady source of income and only regretting that she did not adopt more.

            In 1918, the hard work of the WSPU finally paid off when under the Representation of the People Act, all women over the age of thirty were given the right to vote.

            After the war ended, Emmeline travelled around England and North America, rallying support for the British Empire and warning people of the dangers of Bolshevism.  When a bill was passed allowing women to run for the House of Commons, Emmeline became very politically active in trying to get Christabel elected, but she was narrowly defeated.  The Women’s Party withered out soon afterwards.  During her later years, Emmeline became a member of the Conservative Party, a move that shocked and surprised many people.  Although it may have been a tactical, move in order for her to obtain her goal of equal votes for women.

            In 1928, the Representation of the People Act extended the voting age for women to twenty-one, making them equal with the men.  Unfortunately, Emmeline Pankhurst was unable to see the outcome of her life’s work, as she had died several weeks earlier in a nursing home in Hampstead.  She was buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.  Two years later, a statue of her was unveiled in Victoria Tower Gardens.  

Gertrude Bell 1868 – 1926

Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE, was an English Writer, Traveller and Political Activist. 

            From 1899-1904, Gertrude Bell travelled extensively and conquered many mountains including La Meije and Mont Blanc.  One Alpine Peak in Bernese Oberland, Gertrudspitze, was even named after her.

            In the years 1907-13, Bell travelled extensively throughout the Middle East, during which time she met with T. E. Lawrence.  The two of them helped to establish the Hashemite dynasties in what is now Jordan and in Iraq.  During this time, Bell also took part in many archaeological digs in places like Damascus, Jerusalem and Beirut.  She also became the second foreign woman to visit Ha’il.  The first being Lady Anne Blunt.

            Gertrude Bell was also Honorary Secretary of the Woman’s Anti-Suffrage League.  Despite her own political achievements, she was very much opposed to women’s suffrage.  She felt that many women were not yet ready for making important political decisions.

            At the outbreak of World War I, Bell was denied a post in the Middle East, so she settled for volunteering for the Red Cross in France.  She was later recruited by British Intelligence to help get soldiers through the Middle Eastern Desert.  Gertrude Bell became the only woman to hold political power, working for the British Government in Cairo.   Throughout her time in the Middle East, she managed to form a close relationship with many members of its local tribes. 

            After the war, she helped to determine the boundaries of what is now modern day Iraq from the Ottoman Provinces.  She played the part of mediator between the Arab Government and British Officials. 

            Bell’s first love was archaeology, and she formed the Baghdad Archaeological Museum, later renamed Iraqi Museum, in order to preserve Iraqi history and culture.  The museum was opened shortly before her death and the right wing was named as a memorial to her memory.

            Gertrude Bell returned briefly to Britain in 1925, only to be faced with poor health and family financial problems.  She soon returned to Baghdad where she was struck down with pleurisy.  Gertrude died in 1926 from an overdose of sleeping pills, possibly accidental.  She is buried in the British cemetery in Baghdad.  Her funeral was attended by many people, including the King of Iraq, who watched the procession from his private balcony.

Monica de Wichfeld 1894 – 1945

Monica de Wichfeld

Irish Heroine of the Danish Resistance.

Monica de Wichfeld (Née Massey-Beresford) was born in England in 1894 and raised in Northern Ireland.  At the outbreak of World War I, she moved to London and found work in a Soldier’s Canteen.  It was here that she met her husband, Jorgen de Wichfeld.  They went to live in his native Denmark and had three children together.  One of Monica’s brothers was killed in action during WWI, which led to her hatred for the Germans.

            At the start of World War II, the de Wichfelds were living in Copenhagen, where Monica soon became an active part of the Danish Resistance.  She raised money for the underground press, sheltered fugitives and single-handedly carried explosives across a lake for use by the Danish Resistance.  Monica de Wichfeld also became the leader of resistance groups on islands in south-east of Denmark.

            In 1944, Monica was betrayed by a member of the resistance who had been captured by the Gestapo.  She did not break under Gestapo interrogation, who condemned her to death.  This made her the first women to be condemned to death in Denmark for centuries.  There was an uproar from the people of Denmark, leading the German authorities to finally back down and commute her sentence to life imprisonment.  

            Monica de Wichfeld was sent to Waldheim Concentration Camp, where she died of Pneumonia in 1945.

Nell Gwyn 1650 – 1687

Nell Gwyn

‘Pretty, Witty Nell.’

Eleanor ‘Nell’ Gwyn was the infamous mistress of Charles II of England.  She was the only royal mistress to ever be popular with the ‘common’ people.  The ‘rags to riches’ tale of her life, has led to her becoming something of a folk heroine.

            Nell Gwyn was born in 1650, although the actual place of her birth has been disputed, she did spend her early years living in Covent Garden.  Her mother, the equally infamous Madame Gwyn, ran a Bawdy House (Brothel) and it is possible that Nell may have been a child prostitute. 

            During the years 1663-67, Nell experimented with cross-dressing, complete with false beard, and went about under the name of William Nell.  She was also an orange seller at the King’s Theatre, London, where she stood out due to her natural wit and lack of self-consciousness.  At age 14, Nell gave up selling oranges and took to the stage.  With her good looks and lively wit, she soon became something of a star, appearing mainly in the new form of restoration comedies.

            In 1668, Nell Gwyn became one of the mistresses of King Charles II.  They had two illegitimate children, Charles 1670-1726 and James 1671-1680.  Both were given the surname Beauclerk.  Although not greedy and grasping like her rivals, King Charles still gave Nell a rather generous yearly pension, as well as many properties.  She never received any titles for herself, but her son, Charles, later became Duke of St. Albans.  James died whilst away at school in France.

            When King Charles II died in 1685, his last words, to his brother James II, were ‘Let not poor Nelly starve.’  James kept his promise by paying off all of Nell’s debts, as well as giving her a pension of 1500 pounds a year.  He had tried to pressure Nell into converting to Roman Catholicism but she strongly resisted.  After all, she was the protestant whore.

            Nell continued to live a fairly comfortable life until March 1687, when she suffered a stroke that left her paralysed down one side.  A second stroke just two months later left her confined to bed.  She died from Apoplexy in November of the same year.  Although she left behind a considerable amount of debt, she did manage to leave a small legacy to the prisoners of Newgate Prison, London.  She was buried in the church at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Mairi Chisholm 1896 – 1981

Mairi Chisholm

Mairi Chisholm was a Scottish Nurse and Ambulance Driver during the First World War.

            After war was declared in 1914, the eighteen-year-old Mairi and her new friend, Elsie Knocker, both went to London to become despatch riders for the Women’s Emergency Corps.  Mairi had been a keen motorcyclist from a young age and rode her own cycle from Scotland to London in order to volunteer.  The pair of them ended up in Belgium, picking up wounded soldiers mid-way from the front and transporting them to the field hospital. 

            The pair of them soon decided that it would be better to treat the wounded men directly on the front line.  They set up their own dressing station just 100 yards from the trenches.  As they were now no longer a part of the Belgium Red Cross, they had to raise their own funds in order to support their work.  The two of them spent the next three years tending the wounded soldiers directly on the front line. 

            Mairi Chisholm and Elsie Knocker soon became the most photographed women of the war.  The press wrote many articles about them and they became known as ‘The Madonnas of Pervyse.’

            In 1918, both women were badly affected after a bombing raid and gas attack on their makeshift hospital.  They soon recovered and returned to their work, however, they were later forced to abandon their post for good, just a few months before the war ended.  The pair of them returned to Britain, where they served out the rest of the war in the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF).

            Shortly after the war, the two nurses had a major falling out.  Despite all that they had been through, the two of them were never to speak again.  Mairi Chisolm soon suffered from poor health, having been poisoned, contracting Septicaemia and suffering from a weak heart.  None of that managed to slow her down though.  After leaving the WRAF she took up auto racing and continued to lead a busy, fast-paced life.

            In her later years, Mairi returned to her native Scotland on doctor’s orders, where it was hoped she would lead a much quieter life.  Mairi Chisholm died from lung cancer in 1981.

Awards and Decorations awarded to Mairi Chisholm:-

Knight Cross of the Order of Leopold II with palm,

Military Medal,

Officer of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem,

Order of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium,

1914 Star.

Mary Katherine Herbert 1903 – 1983

Mary Herbert

Mary Herbert was born 1903 in Ireland.  After the outbreak of World War 2, she went to work in the British Embassy in Warsaw, before becoming a Civilian Translator for the Air Ministry in London.  She spoke many languages including French and German. 

            In 1941, she joined the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) as a general duties and intelligence clerk.  Then in 1942, she requested to be released from the WAAF in order to join the SOE (Special Operations Executive).

            After completing her SOE training in 1942, Mary travelled to Bordeaux in France.  Here she acted as a courier for the Scientistcircuit under the codename ‘Claudine’.  It was her job to liase with the different scientist groups and transport messages.  She was also used to seek out ‘safe houses’ and find potential recruits for the SOE. 

            In 1944, ‘Claudine’ was arrested by the Gestapo in Poitiers.  She endured many months in prison under harsh conditions.  She was tortured many times but told the Germans nothing.  The whole time she managed to stick to her story, that she was a French woman from Egypt.  Her knowledge of the French language and a previous trip to Cairo meant that she was able to pull it off.  The Germans finally released her and she hid in Poitiers until the end of the war.

            Later in life, she worked as a translator and language teacher, but suffered from a deep depression and committed suicide in 1983 at the age of 79.  She was one of the few women who never received any medals, for the bravery they showed whilst working for the British resistance during WW2.

Louisa Twining 1820 – 1912

Louisa Twining

Louisa Twining was an English Philanthropist and activist for the English Poor Law.  She was born into the famous ‘Twining’s Tea’ family, and spent her early years as an artist and art historian.

            Louisa started the movement for social reform in 1853.  She then dedicated the rest of her life to working with the Poor Law.

            From 1858-59, she attended Great Ormond Street Hospital on a daily basis.  Her aim was to learn about nursing, unfortunately, she found that she was not able to perform the job.  Also during 1859, she wrote an article to The Times (London) about the poor quality of the standard of nursing in the workhouses.  An area that she was working to improve upon.

            The Workhouse Visiting Society was also established by Louisa Twining in 1858.  Reports were made of the conditions that were found within, so that changes could be made in order to improve the appalling conditions that people were forced to endure.  Being poor was not a crime, yet these people were treated worse than criminals.  Louisa’s work with the Poor Law helped to bring them better health care, as well as improvements to their dietary and sanitation needs.

In 1861, Louisa helped to establish an industrial home for workhouse girls that had been sent out to service.  The following year, she opened a home for aged and incurables.  Both homes were side by side on Great Ormond Street.  She gave comfort, shelter and most importantly, medical help to those who would otherwise have been forgotten and abandoned by the system.  She also opened St Luke’s Home for Epileptic Incurable Women, situated in her own home.

                        Louisa Twining was the Poor Law Guardian for Kensington and for Tunbridge Wells, 1884-90.  One of the first females to be elected for the role.  She was also one of the people, who helped start the Metropolitan and National Association for Nursing.  It was set up to encourage proper training for nurses, in order to improve the standards of nursing care offered to people in the workhouses and homes.

            Louisa finally retired from her life’s work in 1900, and died 1912 in Tunbridge Wells.

Eleanor Davies-Colley 1874-1934

Eleanor Davies-Colley

Eleanor Davies-Colley was amongst the first women to pursue a surgical career in the United Kingdom, in a time when it was still very much a male-dominated profession.  She was also co-founder of South London Hospital for Women and Children.

            After leaving school, she worked with the poor children in London’s East End, before beginning her medical studies in 1902.  She studied at London School of Medicine for Women, achieving an MB BS degree in 1907.  Davies-Colley graduated with her MD degree from the University of London in 1910.

            In 1911, Eleanor Davies-Colley became the first female fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.  She also started raising funds along with her colleague Maud Chadburn, to open a new South London Hospital for Woman and Children.  As well as offering improved medical care for women, it was also going to be an aid to help enhance the career prospects for female medical practitioners.  At the time, many hospitals still refused to employ women doctors.

            They raised enough money for an out-patients department in Newington Causeway which opened in 1912.  By 1916, they had a purpose built hospital on Clapham Common that was staffed entirely by women.  The hospital remained open until 1984, and retained its women-only staffing policy until the day it closed.

            In 1917, Davies-Colley became one of the founding members of the Medical Women’s Federation.  She demonstrated anatomy at the London School of Medicine, before going on to become Surgical Registrar at the Royal Free Hospital.

            Later on in life, she became a surgeon at the Marie Curie Cancer Hospital, and was Senior Obstetrician at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital.

            In 2004, one of the lecture theatres at the Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, was refurbished in her honour, as a celebration of the role of women in surgery.

Dorothy Lawrence 1896 - 1964

Dorothy Lawrence

“I’ll see what an ordinary English girl without credentials can accomplish.”

Dorothy Lawrence was an English reporter who posed as a man to become a soldier during World War 1.  She was an inspiring journalist and had already had some articles published in The Times.  At the outbreak of war, she approached some of the Fleet Street newspapers in the hope of becoming a war reporter but was turned down.

            In 1915, Dorothy travelled to France and tried to volunteer as a civilian employee of the Voluntary Aid Unit, but was rejected once again.  She then tried her luck as a Freelance War Correspondent until she was arrested by the French Police, who ordered her to leave.  Unwilling to accept defeat, she then decided to disguise herself as a man in order to get the story she wanted.

            Dorothy befriended two British Soldiers and along with her ‘Khaki accomplices’; ten men who helped to smuggle her a khaki uniform, she altered her appearance in order to look more like a man.  With false papers in her pocket, Dorothy Lawrence headed to the front lines, as Private Denis Smith of 1^st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment.

            After ten days of liberty working in the trenches, the stress of hiding her true identity, along with the hard-working conditions was beginning to take its toll on her health.  She began to suffer from constant chills, rheumatism and soon fainting fits.  It became clear to her that she would soon require medical aid, which would lead to her secret being found out.  The men who helped her would all find themselves in danger within the army.  Dorothy decided that the only thing she could do, was to present herself to the Commanding Sergeant, who placed her under military arrest.

            Dorothy Lawrence was taken to the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) Headquarters where she was interrogated as a spy, before being declared as a prisoner of war.    They also made her sign an affidavit, so that she would risk jail if she wrote anything about her experiences on the front line.

            On the way back to London, Dorothy shared the same ferry as Emmeline Pankhurst, who invited her to speak at one of her Suffragette meetings.  She also tried to write about her experiences but was silenced by the War Office, using the 1914 Defence of the Realm Act. 

            In 1919, she published an account of her experiences entitled; ‘Sapper Dorothy Lawrence: The Only English Woman Soldier.’  It was well received in a number of countries, despite being heavily censored by the War Office.  Despite her efforts, she never managed to receive any real credibility as a journalist.

            Dorothy Lawrence spent the final thirty-nine years of her life in an asylum, before being buried in a pauper’s grave.

Emily Davison 1872 - 1913

Emily Davison

‘Deeds not words.'

Born in 1872, Emily Wilding Davison was a militant activist who fought for women’s suffrage in Britain.  She was one of a group of women collectively known as Suffragettes.

            The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst.  Emily Davison joined in 1906, after quitting from her job as a teacher.  She soon gained a reputation as a violent campaigner, disrupting meetings, throwing stones at politicians and even arson.  Many of her militant activities were unauthorised and not approved by the WSPU, meaning that she often fell out of favour with the leadership.

            One the night of 2^nd April 1911 when they were conducting the 1911 Census, Emily Davison hid overnight in a cupboard in the chapel of the Palace of Westminster.  She did it just so that she could give the House of Commons as her legitimate place of residence for that night.  It was one of her many ways of trying to gain more publicity for the Suffragette cause.  The Census documents state that she was found hiding in the crypt of the Houses of Parliament.  There is now a plaque commemorating the occasion which was unveiled in 1999.

            During her time in the WSPU, Davison was jailed nine times and often went on hunger strike, leading to her being force-fed a staggering forty-nine times.  She once tried to avoid it by barricading the door to her cell, forcing the prison officers to attempt to flood her out by placing a hosepipe through the window.  Davison was willing to die for her cause, but the door was broken down before the room had been filled.

            In 1912, just as she was nearing the end of a six-month sentence for arson in Holloway Prison, Davison threw herself down a 10metre iron staircase after yet another bout of force-feeding.  Her intentions were to end the suffering endured by her fellow women.  She sustained head and spinal injuries, that would leave her in discomfort for what would be the rest of her short, tempestuous life.

            Emily Davison’s most infamous moment came on 4^th June 1913, the day of the Epsom Derby.  History will remember her, as the woman who got trampled by the horse belonging to King George V.  She ran out from the side-lines and attempted to grab the horses’ bridle.  She had been working alone and no one was aware of her true intentions.  Two WSPU flags were later found in her possession, so it may be possible that she had been planning to attach them to the King’s horse. 

 Davison suffered a fractured skull and numerous internal injuries.  She died four days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital.  Her death was recorded by the coroner as ‘Due to Misadventure.’  She was the only suffragette to risk death for her cause.  Even though the rest of the WSPU and Suffragette movement didn’t always agree with her actions, they still gave her a spectacular funeral procession from Epsom to her memorial in Bloomsbury.  Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan ‘Deeds not words.’