Celebrating the legacy left by our inspirational local women

At their lively monthly Zoom coffee mornings members started a project to find out about local women whose legacy has been to improve opportunities for girls and women.

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world. It began in 1909 in New York as a movement led by the International Socialist Women’s Conference and is now supported by the United Nations. This year the theme is #ChoseToChallenge.

Susan Fricker, women’s officer and co-chair of Ilkley Labour Party, said: “As our group chatted about this at a virtual coffee morning we wanted to learn more about women who had been local trailblazers and so we set about our project. We have been helped in our research by personal memories and online resources such as local newspapers, the Keighley Local Studies Library, Unison and, of course, Wikipedia!

“Resonating through the stories of these women are the qualities of compassion and a desire for social justice. These women are united in working for change.

“Two of the women we researched worked in health and social care; Molly Jones was a pioneering health visitor based in Keighley and Daphne Steele was an inspirational nurse and midwife who became the first person of African heritage to be appointed head matron at a NHS hospital - St Winifred’s Hospital in Ilkley.

“The healthcare that people receive and the opportunities that they have to lead healthy lives are of the utmost importance in society, as the current pandemic has made us all profoundly aware. Ensuring that the best possible healthcare is available to all is fundamental to our NHS. A lack of access to quality healthcare and reproductive health services can have a severe harmful impact on women and girls.

“Two of the women we researched worked in the field of education; Fanny Hertz was a British educationalist and feminist who worked to establish and promote institutions for female education in Bradford. Margaret McMillan worked in Bradford and was a pioneer of nursery education and children’s wellbeing and campaigned to improve schools; she was a driving force behind the Provision of School Meals Act 1906.

“The importance of free school meals to the lives of many children in the UK has been widely debated in the course of the pandemic, but the importance of education more broadly for the lives of individuals and the success of a community cannot be overstated. When people are able to get quality education they can break from a cycle of poverty. Education helps to reduce inequalities, it empowers people to live healthy and sustainable lives, it is crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies. Disadvantages in education lead to a lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labour market.

“Four of the women we researched were leaders in the campaign for equal rights for women. Julia Varley of Bradford was a pioneer of the trade union movement, a champion for women’s and worker’s rights. Catherine Tolson of Ilkley was a prominent suffragette and a dedicated nurse. Barbara Castle, who was head girl at Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, is celebrated as one of the most significant Labour Party politicians of the 20th century. Baroness Lockwood was a driving force behind the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and the Equal Opportunities Commission of which she was the first chair.

“Gender inequality is a key factor in the persistence of poverty. When women and men do not have equal access to resources or equal opportunities to take part in decision-making, there are direct economic and social costs. These largely affect women but also have consequences for their children, communities and countries. We hope that by learning about these stories the girls and women of today will be inspired to continue to strive for compassion and social justice in Yorkshire.

“These brave women worked for decency, equality and fairness, and to improve lives in our community. By improving the lives of women they improved the lives of all.”

Here are some of the stories that inspired the group.

* Margaret McMillan 1860-1931: As a member of the Independent Labour Party, Margaret became a member of the Bradford Schools Board, where she influenced what went on in Bradford schools. She persuaded people that children learn better when they’re not hungry, have fresh air, and clean clothes.

* Julia Varley OBE (1871-1952): Julia Varley was a life-long trade union organiser for women’s and workers’ rights. In 1921 she was elected to the Trades Union Congress general council and also served as chief women’s officer for the transport union, the TGWU. Julia was an early member of the Independent Labour Party alongside Kier Hardy. Julia returned to Bradford for her later years.

* Catherine Tolson: Born in 1890 in Ilkley she is famous for her involvement in the Women’s Social and Political Union. The WSPU was a women only political movement fighting for women’s right to vote, its members became known as the suffragettes. Catherine was a militant campaigner. Believing in direct action, she was arrested and imprisoned several times. She was awarded a Hunger Strike Medal “for Valour” by the WSPU. Her life, however, was short. She never married and died of tuberculosis, aged 34, while working as a nurse in Russia during the famine of 1924.

* Barbara Castle (1910-2002): “I will fight for what I believe in until I drop dead. And that’s what keeps you alive.” These were the words of one of the country’s longest serving woman MPs and the fourth woman in British history to hold a position in Cabinet. Barbara Castle was a towering force in British politics from when she first became a Labour MP in 1945 through to her death in 2002 at the age of 91.

* Molly Jones (1917-2015): Molly Jones dedicated a lifetime to helping women and was a health visitor on the day the NHS was born. She was a tireless campaigner for health reform and spent decades campaigning on a wide range of issues, particularly in the field of women’s health. Molly, who lived in Utley, received several awards for her voluntary work, including a Yorkshire Women of Achievement award and Keighley Community Personality of the year in 1989.

* Daphne Steele (1929-2004): Originally from Guyana, Daphne Steele was among the Windrush generation of nurses who emigrated to work in the UK in the 1950s. In 1964, she successfully applied for the role of head matron at St Winifred’s Hospital in Ilkley, leading the way for generations of BAME nurses to come.

Baroness Lockwood (1924-2019): The life of Betty Lockwood was celebrated in 2019 in Addingham at a memorial service for this local heroine. She was a driving force behind the creation of the Equal Pay Act and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), of which she was the first chair. Baroness Lockwood chaired the European Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men between 1982 and 1983. She served as the chair of the board of trustees at the National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield. From 1978 to 2017 she served in the House of Lords, as Baroness Lockwood of Dewsbury.

Susan added: “The work that these women began is not finished; many of the issues they confronted have not been overcome, as one of our members remarked: ‘who would have thought that children are going hungry now in the UK in 2021 despite the work of Margaret McMillan more than 100 years ago?’

“The names and achievements of some of these women are still well known, while those of others less so. We have learnt a lot by finding out about these pioneering women. We have so much to celebrate in our proud local history of women looking out for each other, opening up opportunities, working for an equal, fair, inclusive and supportive community. We, in Ilkley Labour Party Women’s Group, hope that you have enjoyed reading about these women and that you find them inspiring as we have.”