women – Diverse Collections

21st May 2019

‘A Marked Degree of Capacity’: Female Social Historians at The University of Edinburgh

While leafing through the archives in search of new materials for this blog, it becomes impossible not to think of those who made it their job to research the wealth of information and knowledge hidden in archival materials and analyse it so as to give voice to the big issues and public debates of times past. With that in mind, then, the spotlight today is on the stories of two equally brilliant social historians, one a former staff member and one a prestigious alumna of the University of Edinburgh:

Copy of ‘The Making of the Old Scottish Poor Law’ from Past & Present, 1974 (Coll-1066)

Dr Rosalind Mary Mitchison

In 1942 Dr Rosalind Mary Mitchison, known to friends and family as ‘Rowy,’ graduated from the University of Oxford with a First Class Degree in Mathematics and History. An excellent student with a distinct inclination for academic work, between the years 1943 and 1946 Dr Mitchison worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the faculty of History of the University of Manchester, before moving to Edinburgh with her equally academic husband to take up a post as Assistant Lecturer in the History Department at the University of Edinburgh.

Marked by numerous part-time appointments and several breaks dictated by the necessity of looking after her children and family, Dr Mitchison’s early career was certainly not an easy one. Yet, as one colleague remarked in her Memorial –collated by her husband–, if Dr Mitchison ‘did not find the University’s male-dominated ethos very welcoming to a woman who interleaved her teaching commitments with having babies,’ she remained ‘unlikely to be intimidated’ by such injustices, and continued pursuing her research.

In 1967, with her children grown to a more manageable age and the help of a part-time housekeeper, Dr Mitchison was finally able to take up a full-time employment at the University of Edinburgh, where she first covered the post of Lecturer, being soon promoted to Reader and, eventually, coming to hold the title of Professor. She was, by all accounts, ‘a great teacher’:

Exacting, kindly, never letting anyone get away with their second best. Always on top of her subject.

She was also, despite never calling herself so, a feminist, or so she was described by her former colleague R. J. Morris in an obituary published by The Guardian:

I never heard Rowy use what we would now call feminist language, but she had many qualities and ambitions that a later generation of women will recognise. […] At work, she took care to make spaces for other women academics, and occasionally pointed out to colleagues that women faced a variety of pressures.

A passionate academic, Dr Russel Moller officially retired in 1986, though she continued to follow her research interests and remained actively involved in the university community. In 1992, she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of St. Andrews, and she was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1994. In 2000, Dr Mitchison published her lifetime work under the title of The Old Poor Law in Scotland: The Experience of Poverty, 1574 – 1845 (Edinburgh University Press). The book, a culmination of a career-spanning interest, was labelled as ‘splendid’ by many a reviewer, and considered a great contribution to the field of Social History.

Portrait photograph of Dr Mitchison, date and hptographer unknown (Coll-1066)

Dr Asta Winifer Russel Moller

Between 1916 and 1920, Dr Asta Winifer Russel Moller attended the University of Edinburgh, where she pursued her undergraduate degree by attending classes in English. Moral Philosophy, British History, Political Economy, Economic History and Political Science. During her time at Edinburgh, Dr Russel Moller took part in numerous extra-curricular activities, and took up residence in Masson Hall, where she proved keen to forge connections with her fellow female students.

A dedicated and brilliant scholar, Dr Russel Moller graduated from the University of Edinburgh on 8^th July 1920 with a Second Class Honours Degree in Economic Science, and later moved on to attend Somerville College, Oxford, where she began a one-year post-graduate degree programme in Social History.

Graduating again in 1921 with a Bachelor of Letters on the subject of English Coal Mining in the 17^th Century, Dr Russel Moller impressed her supervisors at the University of Oxford, who were keen to praise ‘her knowledge of the history of Industry’ and who repeatedly claimed ‘it has been a great advantage to have in the College an advanced student of her ability and keen interest in economic and social questions.’

Between 1921 and 1926, Dr Russel Moller applied for a number of academic posts, among which those of Lecturer in Economics at King’s College for Women, London, and of Warden of Crosby Hall. Then, in 1926, Dr Russel Moller returned to Oxford, joining New College to pursue a DPhil on the history of coal mining. As a scholar who ‘des not spare herself pains’ and whose ‘judgement is sound,’ Dr Russel Moller was considered a great asset for the University, with her supervisor claiming that any ‘institution which secures her services would find her influence steadily growing’ thanks to the ‘thoroughness, originality and vivacity’ or her research work.

She has exhibited in a marked degree of capacity for sustained hard work, and she has not shrunk from work of which some has been necessarily laborious and detailed in character.

In 1933, seven years after the start of her research project, Dr Russel Moller was awarded her DPhil for the thesis ‘The History of English Coal Mining, 1500-1700,’ a seminal work and still a significant reference for scholars in the field.

May 21, 2019

30th April 20197th May 2019

A Lady and a Surgeon: Margaret Mary Rae Martin, MB ChB

Born in Inverness on 4^th March 1941, Dr Margaret Melville Rae Martin, known to friends and family as simply Rae, was a member of a distinguished medical family. Her mother, Margaret Wylie Martin, and her father, Russell Dickson Martin, met while working as doctors in the Inverness area, with Dr Russell Martin serving as Medical Officer of Health for Clydebank at the time of her birth. Her paternal grandmother, Dr Emily Winifred Dickson, was also a medical practitioner and the first woman to be appointed Fellow of the Royal Academy of Surgeons in Ireland.

Passport photo of Margaret Melville Rae Martin, ca.1969 (Coll-1541)

After gaining recognition from the Scottish University Entrance Board, who, in 1958, certified to her ‘fitness to enter upon a course qualifying for graduation in any faculty in a Scottish University’, Rae decided to follow in the footsteps of her family, and, in 1959, began classes at the Medical School of the University of Edinburgh. Soon after her enrolment, Rae was granted the Whiteside Bruce Bursary, ‘awarded [to her] as the student who, having attended the Chemistry, Physics and Biology classes during the past winter and summer sessions, had obtained the highest number of marks in the class exams in these subjects.’ A diligent and brilliant student, Rae graduated with Honours in 1965, winning, in the same year, the Buchanan Scholarship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and being appointed part-volunteer doctor in Labrador (Canada) under the International Grenfell Association.

Upon her return from Canada in 1966, Rae took up a series of posts throughout Scotland, first as House Surgeon in the General Surgical Unit of Bangour General Hospital in West Lothian, then as House Officer in the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion and Gynaecological Wards of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh – where she was promoted to Senior House Officer—and Senior House Officer in the surgical department at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, and, finally, as Resident Registrar at the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women in Glasgow. In October 1972, she admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Her interest in travelling, sparked by a medical volunteering trip to Poland in the early days of her career, led Rae to move, in 1973, to Ethiopia, where she worked at consultant in charge at St. Pauls Hospital in Addis Ababa. While in Ethiopia, Rae also held the post of honorary assistant professor at the university in Addis Ababa, as well as taking part in the training of nurses and family planning workers. From 1974 onwards, Rae also covered a part-time position as gynaecologist at the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia, and was appointed official lecturer to the Ethiopian Family Planning Association.

Class photo of Margaret Melville Rae Martin, 1966 (Coll-1541)

Margaret Melville Rae Martin’s first house, ca. 1941 (Coll-1541)

In 1976, after almost four years abroad, Rae decided to permanently return to the UK, taking up a job as consultant at Newmarket General Hospital in 1977, where she remained until her retirement in 2001. In 1985, Rae was awarded a Fellowship to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and in 2005 she became a Fellow of the British Medical Association, an organisation she had partnered with for over 25 years.

Always keen to share her medical expertise and to visit new places, during her time in Ethiopia Rae attended numerous conferences in Northern Africa, forging connections with local medical practitioners and fostering her passion for travel and photography. Her travel accounts, held with her professional and personal papers in the University’s Special Collections, are rich of vivid descriptions of the places she visited and her encounters with local culture and fellow travellers. Often irreverent and ironic, Rae demonstrates in her writing a vivacious character and a witty mind:

The club is near the fort of Quait Bay –15^th C. now a museum and officially a military object – and not photographable! I did! –the guardian agreed it was a stupid rule.

Passport photo of Margaret Melville Rae Martin, ca.1958 (Coll-1541)

Ever self-aware and keenly independent, Rae was capable of appreciating the liminality of her position as a female doctor and surgeon, jokingly remarking on the perceived paradox of it in one of her journals:

The men went sightseeing in old Cairo after lunch, but the ladies –and I was temporarily a lady, not a surgeon – were invited to the presidential house.

Rae’s witty explanation that she could either be a ‘lady’ or a ‘surgeon’, but never both at the same time, speaks of her understanding of the social constraints to which female doctors of her time seemed to be subjected, but her willingness to slip ‘temporarily’ from one role into the other at her will highlights her desire to live freely, and makes us agree that the depiction of ladies and surgeons as opposite too was, indeed, ‘a stupid rule.’

Margaret Melville Rae Martin’s photo in the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School Yearbook, 1965 (Coll-1541)

Apr 30, 2019

12th March 2019

International Women’s Day Sketchathon

What a week it has been for your Gender and Equality Images PhD Intern* (a.k.a. myself). Last Friday was, of course, International Women’s Day, which, incidentally, is also one of my favourite days of the year. I kicked off the celebrations with a brief appearance at Argyle House, where I presented my work on notable Edinburgh women as part of the IWD Wikipedia Editathon run by the wonderful Wikimedian in Residence Ewan McAndrew. It was an absolutely lovely event, with great attendance (we even broadcasted live to South Africa via Skype) and a bunch of very cool IWD-themed badges. What a great start to the day!

After that, I dashed off to prepare for my very own International Women’s Day Sketchathon – fun, game-based workshop mixing art challenges with stories of women in the collections! The event was held in the Research Suite at the Centre for Research Collections, where tables were set up to encourage collaborative work and refreshments were offered to lighten up the mood (and feed the starving host!).

We had an incredible group of attendees from all backgrounds, both staff members and students, of all ages, genders and ethnicities, and everyone took part in the challenges with great enthusiasm and passion for the subject matter and the creative means. We learned about notable Edinburgh women (some of which are featured in various articles on this blog), Edinburgh-based artists Jessica Harrison, Phyllis Bone and Susan Collis (whose work has either been collected in the University’s Art Collection or commissioned by the University), and we discussed the ways in which female artists at Edinburgh University chose to mark public spaces. Some incredible original artwork was created by our attendees in response to the visual prompts offered by the speakers, and I’ve collected a few examples to preserve for the future.

A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped make the event possible, and to everyone who attended with a big grin on their face and a can-do mind-set. It was wonderful meeting you all, and I look forward to many further occurrences! Now I’m off to dive once more into the collections and uncover new and inspiring stories. Wish me luck.

*Yes, even typing this job title leave me breathless.

Mar 12, 2019

18th December 201811th December 2018

7 Tips for Running a Successful Campaign (according to Helen Lowe)

Courtesy of Lothian Health Services Archive, Edinburgh University Library

When Helen Lowe conducted her campaign in favour of the preservation of the special status afforded to the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children and the Elsie Inglis Maternity Memorial Hospital as hospitals staffed exclusively by female medical professionals, her experience taught her a great many lessons on the running of an effective campaign. Luckily for us, we can access these lesson and learn from Helen’s success. Here are some of the tips and tricks that Helen’s papers –hosted by the Lothian Health Services Archive—seem to recommend:

1. Have a clear objective

Sometimes, issues surrounding certain specific campaigns can be complex and multi-faceted. It is important, however, to keep actions focussed on specific aims and to be able to explain those aims concisely and clearly.

‘A mass meeting is to be held in the Usher Hall on Wednesday, April 17^th at 7.30 p.m. with the object of passing a resolution to initiate action to safeguard the maintenance of the status quo of the […] hospitals as hospitals for women patients, staffed by women.’

Despite not being unaware of the larger issues facing female medical staff and patients throughout Scotland and the UK, Helen knew that in order for her campaign to gain momentum, it needed to maintain a solid, central statement of intent. This ensured all efforts would be geared toward achieving the most important or most pressing goals.

2. Find allies

As Helen’s correspondence demonstrates, building a strong network of interested participants in relevant organisations and institutions is fundamental to a fruitful campaign. And it’s important to remember that allies can be found where one least expects them:

‘Several of the most distinguished medical men in Edinburgh are on the side of the women.’

Despite the staffing of the hospital being primarily a female concern, gaining the trust and support of ‘the most distinguished medical men in Edinburgh’ proved an essential boost for Helen’s campaign, for it served to fight the gender stereotyping attached to the issue, and thus leave space for more administrative, medical and legal discussions.

3. Raise public interest

Support from appropriate political, professional or cultural groups can certainly do much to improve the chances of a campaign, but nothing is more powerful than public opinion. As Helen puts it in one of her letters:

‘The wider the support, the more likely we are to succeed.’

Once the aims and methods of the campaign have been established, it is time to shout about it and make sure more and more people take the cause to heart.

4. Create easily actionable tasks

Getting people to listen to your concerns is certainly an essential part of the success of a campaign. Taking action, however, is what makes the difference. So as to encourage a larger number of supporters to transform that support into action, it’s important to come up with simple and effective steps that everyone can take with relative ease:

‘At the meeting each member of the audience took away a card […] in order that they might send it to their Member of Parliament. […] We wish to impress our Members of Parliament with the sincere demand there is for the retention of the women’s hospitals.’

By providing all supporters with a pre-written postcard, Helen ensured that everyone who wished to take part in the action to save the hospitals would be able to do so without requiring too much effort or commitment.

5. Avoid misconceptions

Sometimes, information doesn’t seem to come across the way it is supposed to. Be it the consequence of an honest mistake or an attempt on the part of the opposition to sabotage the action, this can result in losing supporters and, in the long run, will damage the campaign. In order to avoid misunderstandings, give supporters, allies, and collaborators a chance to ask questions and clarify issues. As a letter to Helen states:

‘Another lady, who has now sent a card to her MP, said that she had refused to sign before because she was under the impression that this was an anti-male doctor campaign. She now fully understands the situation. ‘

The mass meeting in Usher Hall offered Helen and the other campaigners an opportunity to set the record straight as to the aims of their campaign, so that supporters could be reassured in their loyalty to the cause.

6. Oppose misrepresentation

Media coverage can be a significant ally for a campaign, yet not all press is indeed good press. When issues at the core of the campaign get repeatedly misrepresented, the campaign’s aims run the risk of becoming overshadowed. As Helen’s letters to newspaper show us, accurately and systematically opposing misrepresentation allows for the running of a fairer and more open campaign:

‘Mr. Nixon Browne, however, in his reply as reported made statements which could lead to serious misconceptions.’

With politeness and decision, Helen called out Mr. Nixon Browne’s ‘misconception’ as to the campaign and the way the press had reported on these, so as to project a more accurate image of the struggles to maintain the status of the hospitals.

7. Do not give up

Setbacks are a natural part of every campaign. Thinks don’t always run smoothly, and, sometimes, carefully planned action doesn’t lead to the expected results. Don’t lose heart, though.

‘It was decided at the meeting to pursue our cause until Justice is done. ‘

In the face of failure, it’s crucial to remember the reasons behind a campaign, and to know that, with the support of allies and a little extra time and effort, anything can be achieved.

Dec 18, 2018

11th December 201811th December 2018

Gender and Equality: First Semester Overview

From the Papers of Annie Hutton Numbers (Coll-649)

A little over three months ago, I began my internship at the Centre of Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh. My aim was that of uncovering hidden stories of marginalised groups, and I started my research by focussing primarily on narratives of women whose remarkable lives have gone, until now, unnoticed. As the first semester draws to a close, I thought it might be interesting to put together an overview of some of the marvellous finds I bumped into whilst searching the University collections — finds that, due to a lack of time or the need for more in-depth research, haven’t quite made yet it into fully fledged blog posts:

Annie Hutton Numbers – Numbers graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1918 with the degree of MA (hons) Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and then again in 1920 with the degrees of BSc in Mathematics and BSc in Chemistry. She was among the first women to obtain a degree from the Department of Chemistry, and went on to work for the University in the capacities of Assistant Lecturer and Demonstrator. While on the university staff, Numbers undertook research towards the award of a PhD in Chemistry, which she eventually gained in 1926 for the thesis The Influence of Substituents on the Optical Rotary Power of Compounds.

Numbers has a Wikipedia page, as well as her own entry in the Our History directory of the University of Edinburgh.

From the Papers of Annie Hutton Numbers, photographer unknown (Coll-649)

Marjorie Rackstraw – After suffering from many health-related issues, in 1924 Rackstraw became Warden of Masson Hall at The University of Edinburgh, a position that she held until 1937. In her capacity as Warden, she served as an adviser to women students, counselling on matters regarding accommodation, education, and future careers. In 1937 Rackstraw moved from Edinburgh to London, where she took up many volunteering projects in favour of the elderly, war refugees, and homeless. Thirty years after leaving Masson Hall, Rackstraw contributed financially to the building of a new hall of residence.

Entries on Marjorie Rackstraw can be found in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the Our History directory of the University of Edinburgh, and intern volunteer Elsie talks about the Papers of Marjorie Rackstraw (Coll-705) in her blog post on Carpe Librum.

From the Papers of Marjorie Rackstraw, photographer unknown (Coll-705)

Susan Binnie – From 1915, Binnie studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where she was one of the first female students allowed to participate in medical education alongside her male colleagues. Binnie graduated with the degrees on MB and ChB in the early 1920s, and went on to work at her brother’s newly set-up practice in Midcalder before taking a post as a pathologist at Bangour Hospital, West Lothian. Official records show Binnie leaving the profession after her marriage and the birth of her two children. New evidence, however, suggests that Binnie might have continued practicing medicine well after this, although more research is required to ascertain the facts.

Susan Binnie, photographer unknown, 1920s (Coll-1052)

Margaret Stuart Tyndall Bruce of Falkland – Daughter of Robert Hamilton Bruce, Bruce was a heiress and landowner who inherited Falkland Palace from her uncle John Hamilton Bruce in 1826. Despite most of her achievements both as a business woman and a charitable figure being attributed to her husband Onesiphorus Tyndall-Bruce, it was Mrs Bruce’s fortune that funded many initiatives crucial to the life of her community, including the construction of new buildings, land purchases, employment and charitable work.

A digital image of Bruce’s portrait, part of the University of Edinburgh Art Collection, can be found on the Art UK website, while more about the life of the Tyndall-Bruces is described in this leaflet for the Tyndall Bruce Monument.

Marjorie Jean Oswald Kennedy – Born in 1915 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, during the Second World War Kennedy begun serving with the Women Royal Naval Service before moving, in 1943, to Bletchely park, were she worked as a codebreaker for allied forces trying to decrypt encrypted messages transmitted through the German Enigma machine. Following the end of the war, Kennedy moved first to London, and, then, to Edinburgh, where in the 1980s she worked as a librarian at the University of Edinburgh. She engaged in much charitable work and was the inspiration behind the foundation of the Rock Trust, a charity aimed at helping homeless people.

Wikipedia hosts a page on Kennedy.

This is it for the first semester, but I look forward to many more fascinating discoveries in the new year.

Dec 11, 2018

27th November 201827th November 2018

“Let the Battle Commence:” The Pioneering Life of Helen Millar Lowe

Born in Duns on 10^th December 1897, Helen M. Lowe left Berwickshire High School at the age of 16 to pursue a career beyond traditional educational settings. Following her failure to graduate, she decided to move to England and soon joined the offices of the Post Office Savings Bank in London, where she worked as a clerk throughout the First World War. This was to be only the first of a series of rebellious acts that made Helen, in many ways, a revolutionary woman for her time.

Upon the coming into force of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, Helen decided to return to Scotland to begin an apprenticeship with chartered accountants Chiene and Tait, a post that she held for nine years. In 1926, after long and extensive training and supplementary classes at The University of Edinburgh, Helen became the third woman in Edinburgh to officially enter the register of Chartered Accountants. As ‘a would-be pioneer in one of the most conservative professions,’ however, Helen did not content herself with her achievements, and two years after her qualification as a Chartered Accountant, she left Chiene and Tait to open her own business in Queen Street, Edinburgh, the first female Chartered Accountant to do so within the city.

Helen’s incredible tenacity and business acumen, led her to set up an extremely successful business. At her death on 6^th November 1997, Helen left a £7m fortune built on a portfolio of stocks and shares and several properties around Edinburgh.

Yet, Helen is remembered for more than just business success. A keen participant in the life of her community, Helen invested much of her time in charitable work, particularly in the service of women and the elderly. As honorary treasurer and secretary of many charitable bodies, Helen dedicated her life to the well-being of those within and without her social circle, advocating for several important causes on a local level.

Her most notable effort is, without a doubt, her campaign in support of the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children and the Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Hospital. Originally conceived as ‘Institutions that are staffed by legally qualified medical women and in particular which afford to women and children the opportunity of consulting and being treated by medical women,’ the two hospitals offered critical and much-needed services to the community they served. Therefore, when in 1957 the South-Eastern Regional Hospital Board made the decision to advertise a vacancy for Consulting Physicians at the hospitals as open to both men and women, protests ensued. Helen quickly joined forces with other protesters, organising a committee to mount a strategic campaign. In April 1957, a mass meeting took place in the Usher Hall to raise awareness of the issue:

It was a splendid meeting. There were queues at each door an hour before the time, and the body of the Hall, the Main Gallery, and a large part of the Organ Gallery were filled to capacity.

Following the success of the meeting, which the Weekly Scotsman described as ‘one of the most remarkable demonstrations yet made against State management in this country,’ several initiatives were encouraged for the promotion of the campaign. When the Board remained firm in their decision, however, Helen begun seeing the necessity of taking matters further:

The gloves are off now, and we are really rolling our sleeves and saying “Let the battle commence.”

After pleads to the Secretary of State went unheard, Helen and ten more prominent local women took the issue to the Court of Session. The case was heard in October 1957, and, a few weeks later, a judgement in favour of the campaigners was finally pronounced. In May 1958, a female physician was finally appointed to the post. The status of the hospitals had been preserved.

Shortly after the successful end of the campaign, members of staff at the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children and the Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Hospital wrote to Mrs. Lowe to thank her for her engagement with the campaign:

The whole conduct of the campaign with its successful outcome has filled us with admiration and we feel that a large part of its success was due to your ungrudging selfless work on our behalf. We owe you a debt that we can never repay.

Helen’s strenuous efforts in support of the campaign –testified in her extensive correspondence with various members of both the general public and governmental institutions— garnered not only the gratitude of those directly affected by her selflessness and determination, but the status of pioneering woman above and beyond her professional career. Helen’s words in response to those thanking her speak of her legacy:

It will be a pity if Scotsmen and women were to accept all the dictates of the bureaucrats. I think, however, that we still have amongst us far too many people of independent mind for that to happen.

As a woman of ‘independent mind,’ Helen did much to protect the vulnerable and ensure that injustices would not go unchallenged. In 1964, her active and passionate participation in charitable work was rewarded with an MBE as part of the New Year Honours.

Nov 27, 2018

30th October 20185th November 2018

Oh WOW! Women at Work in the 1980s

WOW promotional materials (SC-Acc-2018-0179)

Buried within the pages of one of the latest acquisitions at the Centre for Research Collections–one so recent, in fact, that its contents have yet to be detailed within the CRC catalogue–, a cut-out of a 1980s’ magazine states:

‘The trouble for most women who have spent years at home is that they lack the self-confidence to start again. And those few who have retained their self-esteem are so out of touch that they don’t know how to get going.’

This statement should come as no surprise, as even today women, who statistically perform a greater share of domestic and child-rearing tasks, are more likely than men to see their career development negatively affected by their commitment and devotion to family responsibilities. At the time our magazine article was published, however, the UK government, in partnership with the Manpower Services Commission and the University of Edinburgh, begun to implement a unique solution to the issue: the WOW programme. WOW (Wider Opportunities for Women) courses started being offered within the Extra-Mural Department at the University of Edinburgh in 1980, making the university possibly the sole institution to receive Manpower Services Commission funding for such a programme. Initially run by the Training Services Division of the Manpower Services Commission, the WOW programme was aimed at women planning to return to work –most often after pregnancy and years of domestic ‘employment’–, and sought to provide training opportunities as well as guidance over how to approach the job market, what type of opportunities might be available, and what obstacles may be encountered.

As the leaflets and fliers stored within the collections suggest, the Edinburgh WOW programme was open to all women who had never had a job or who had not worked for at least two years. In addition, women of at least 19 years of age who had left full-time education a minimum of two years prior to the start of the programme were also encouraged to place an application, making the course a highly inclusive and diverse environment.

Most importantly, the course was mainly aimed at women who might feel insecure or unsure with regards to their career paths. In a short statement within the same magazine cut-out, then organiser of the Edinburgh WOW course –and WOW alumna—Joanna Highton stresses the importance of helping women understand their potential and talents:

‘When we interview women, we deliberately choose those who have not made up their minds about what they want to do. They are the ones who need it most.’

Those accepted on a WOW course were offered a tax-free weekly allowance dependent on their family circumstances, as well as travel reimbursement and lunch refreshments throughout the course. They were encouraged to take part in different work experience programmes and to consult experts in their chosen fields, and appointments were made for them to discuss their plans ‘with the expert staff of the Occupational Guidance Unit.’

‘The WOW course helps women focus on the job they want, and gives them a realistic idea of just how to get it.’

CV guidance and interview preparation were integral components of the WOW programme, so as to fullfil the three fundamental aims of the course:

To give information;
To help make plans;
To help gain confidence.

In 1989, with the transformation of the Extra-Mural Department into the Centre for Continuing Education, the WOW programme at The University of Edinburgh underwent a re-branding that lead to the creation of the new Returning to Work or Study course, ‘a two-term one-morning-a-week’ course ‘open to parents of either sex who have been tied to domestic responsibilities for a number of years.’ The newly formulated programme had the goal of providing ‘participants with an opportunity to reassess their potential and reconsider their career goals.’ Although statistics relating to the number of male vs female students within the new course are currently not available, general social tendencies seem to suggest that enrollment to the Returning to Work or Study programme would have remained primarily, if not uniquely, female.

Revolutionary in its approach to solving a problem affecting countless women, the WOW course remains inspirational today as an initiative promoting inclusion in the workplace, supporting families, and encouraging women to pursue satisfying and meaningful careers.

Oct 30, 2018

23rd October 201810th January 2019

From Bletchley with Love: Irene J. Young

Irene J. Young (Coll-1657), 1944, photographer unknown.

Irene J. Young, affectionately known by friends and family as ‘Mouse,’ was born in Edinburgh on 16^th February 1919. She was educated at Esdaile (Ministers’ Daughters’ College) before joining The University of Edinburgh in 1937 to pursue an M. A. (Hons) degree in English Language and Literature.

Irene’s engagement in the war effort dates back to her time as a student in Edinburgh, where, in the summer of 1941, she begun work as a volunteer with ‘the Scheme for Provision of Shelter for Persons rendered Homeless as a result of enemy action.’ A scrapbook of Irene’s time at The University of Edinburgh, stored within the Centre for Research Collections, depicts Irene’s commitment to play a part in the home front resistance as well as her emotional involvement in the welfare of troops deployed both at home and abroad.

After her graduation in July 1942, Irene was recommended by members of the University for employment with the Foreign Office, work that eventually led her to take up a post at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. Of her time at Bletchley, Irene wrote:

“I, among many others, was a mere adjutant –a cog in the great enterprise. We did the routine work which was, nevertheless, collectively essential.”

The ‘collectively essential’ work performed by Irene at the GC&CS was part of a top-secret operation, code-named Ultra, to obtain –through decryption— vitally important intelligence from enemy radio and teleprinter communications. Thanks to the strenuous works of ‘cogs’ like Irene, the end of the war in Europe is said to have been advanced by two years (1), potentially sparing countless lives.

Irene J. Young and Leslie George Cairns (Coll-1657), 1944, photographer unknown.

On 29^th December 1943, after a long and complex engagement, Irene married fellow Edinburgh University graduate Lieut. Leslie George Cairns, R. A. (Ayrshire Yeomanry), seconded Parachute Regiment, with a small ceremony in St. Cuthbert’s Memorial Chapel in Edinburgh. The couple’s happy ending, however, was destined to be short-lived, as barely six months after the wedding Lieut. Cairns went missing during a sabotaging expedition in France, and was later declared dead in action. The mysterious circumstances of Leslie’s death prompted Irene to embark, soon after the end of the war, on a frustrating journey to France in an attempt to uncover the truth of her husband’s final mission. Following a series of unsuccessful inquiries, Irene begun making plans to permanently leave Britain, eventually moving to South Africa in 1947.

Abroad, Irene worked as a bookseller and a lecturer. During her time in South Africa, she made the acquaintance of Reginald Brown, a British war veteran “who was extremely sensitive to [her] experience, and who, himself, had had a tough war.” The shared memories of war times encouraged a bond between Irene and Reginald which, soon, resulted in marriage. Not long after becoming husband and wife, the couple returned to Edinburgh, where Reginald found employment as an accountant, while Irene worked first as a freelance editor and tutor, before joining a department of Edinburgh University Library, where she remained for ten years.

Then, in 1982, “shortly after the Falklands War,” Reginald “died suddenly and unexpectedly”:

“I was desolate. Not for nothing is the word for ‘widow’ derived from the French ‘VIDE’.”

Out of Irene’s grief for the loss of her second husband, came the idea for a new project: a memoir detailing Irene’s memories of the war, her work at Bletchley Park, and her first love. In 1988, having worked on her autobiography for the best part of six years and with the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of WWII fast approaching, Irene started accosting publishers. The path to publication proved not without obstacles, with some editors commenting, “Oh no! Not another war memoir!”, and others doubting the “viability” of the project on the basis that “you are not a household name.”

Irene J. Young (Coll-1657), 1939, photographer unknown.

Yet, Irene persevered in her attempts, and in April 1989 she was finally able to announce to her friends Ronald and Dorothy:

“I have a big surprise for you –and for myself! The book I started writing some time ago –to fill the big void created by Reg’s death—is to be published early next year!”

Enigma Variations was published in May 1990, two years after Irene’s first letter to her publisher, Bill Campbell. Irene’s papers speak of her delight at being able to share the “3 enigmas in my life then”: work at Bletchley Park, a love story complicated by the need for constant secrecy, and “the enigma of Leslie’s fate.” By immortalising her experiences, Irene was able to give voice to a generation of young people whose passions and fears had been silenced by years of unanswered questions and strict confidentiality:

“The technical complexities of the Enigma machine, and the breaking of the code have been brilliantly explained by Ronald Lewin, Peter Calvocoressi and others. I am in no way competent to do this.

[…]

My book has a much humbler purpose. I wanted to set on record the grim but hilarious social conditions endured by the rank and file at BP [Bletchley Park]. […] I happen to think this a piece of social history that shouldn’t be lost, and that any interesting individual experience in historic times is worthy of being recorded.”

Although Irene might only have been ‘a cog in the great enterprise’ of public History, her personal history, the history of a woman of incredible vitality and character who relentlessly fought for what she believed to be right, portrays the struggles, the sufferings, and the victories of an entire generation. Irene’s memoir and papers shed light on the experience of the war not as a great national event, but as the daily life of common men and women whose losses, sacrifices and efforts served as the backbone for an entire country. As such, her painstaking recording remains an invaluable gift to future generations.

(1) Kahn, David (1997), The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet (2nd Revised ed.), New York: Simon & Schuster.

Oct 23, 2018

Tag: women