Between January and May 2020, I visited the City and County Archives in Cork, Ireland, and mined through the Irish Newspaper Archive, to research the Cork Child Welfare League for my PhD thesis on maternal and infant mortality in twentieth-century…
Category: Biography
Remembering Nellie Cressall by Jane McChrystal
Nellie Cressall was one of the brave women who went to prison in support of the Poplar Rates Rebellion in 1921, just one episode in a long life of activism, which began after she joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP)…
Queen Mother Moore and Reparative Histories by Dr Hannah Ishmael
Whilst the events of this summer have thrown into sharp relief the effects of state sanctioned violence against Black communities, globally, it is important to recognise that alongside the campaigns to end racism there has also been activity that seeks…
Looking at Lady Rhondda: Businesswoman, Campaigner and Journalist: Professor Angela V. John
In this, our latest great blog post, Professor Angela V. John reflects on her keynote address at the 2019 WHN conference. I began by looking at how the teenage Margaret Haig Thomas (later Margaret Mackworth and, from 1918, the 2nd…
Dr Marion Phillips: Sunderland’s First Female MP (1929-1931) by Dr. Sarah Hellawell
Heritage matters! In our latest brilliant blog post, Dr. Sarah Hellawell tells us about Dr. Marion Phillips, Sunderland’s First Female MP and the installation of a blue heritage plaque at the site of the Sunderland Labour Party’s former offices. Over…
WOMEN IN SPORT : A Timely Fracture in a Sporting Glass Ceiling by Doloranda Pember
In our latest post Doloranda Pember reflects on her book: In the wake of Mercedes Gleitze: Open Water Swimming Pioneer (The History Press, February 2019). When my mother died in 1981, little did I know of the full extent of…
Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 – Dr. Nicola Clark
In this fascinating post Dr. Clark tells us about her important new monograph: Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 (OUP, 2018). The Howard family, Dukes of Norfolk, were the family most entwined with the Tudor dynasty during the…
Labour Women in Power: Cabinet Ministers in the 20th century – Dr. Paula Bartley.
(L-R Margaret Bondfield, Ellen Wilkinson, Barbara Castle, Judith Hart and Shirley Williams) In this post, Dr. Paula Bartley gives us a sneak peak of her fabulous new book: Labour Women in Power: Cabinet Ministers in the 20th century (Palgrave Macmillan,…
The Enigma of Ellen Terry (1847-1928) – Dr. Veronica Isaac
Ellen Terry (1847-1928) ‘Of Ellen Terry, the actress, Our Lady of the Lyceum as Oscar Wilde used to style her, what a series of wonderful pictures live in the memory”[i] A leading late nineteenth century actress, Dame Ellen Terry’s lifestyle…