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.