Born in 1834; served in 8 Hussars in the Crimean War, 1853-1856, and in India, [1857]; County Councillor, Whiteparish division, Wiltshire County Council, [1891-1894]; established freehold colony at Winterslow, Wiltshire, [1892]; died in 1918.
Born in 1930; educated at Wimbledon College and Merton College, Oxford; served in RAF, 1952-1954; Assistant Principal, Air Ministry, 1954; Private Secretary to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Air, 1956-1958; Principal, Air Ministry, 1958; Private Secretary to Chief of Air Staff, 1962-1965; Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence, 1968; Defence Counsellor, UK Delegation to NATO, 1970-1973; Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office, 1974-1977; Deputy Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, 1977-1981; Deputy Secretary, HM Treasury, 1981-1982; Permanent Secretary, Department of Employment, 1983-1988; Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, 1988-1992.
Born 1903; educated at Radley and Christ Church, Oxford; commissioned into 1 King's Dragoon Guards from Territorial Army, 1925; Lt, 1927; Capt, 1932; service with 1 King's Dragoon Guards, Egypt and Secunderabad, India, 1932-1936; Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, 1937-1938; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Bde Maj, Support Group, 1 Armoured Div, France, 1939-1940; captured by German forces, St Valery, France, 1940; POW, 1940-1945; Commanding Officer, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, Austria, 1945; awarded MBE, 1945; Lt Col, 1945; awarded MC, 1945; Commanding Officer, 1 King's Dragoon Guards, Palestine and Benghazi, Libya, 1946-1948; Assistant Adjutant General, War Office, 1948-1949; Col, 1949; Col (General Staff), Royal Armoured Corps Directorate, War Office, 1949-1951; commanded 23 (Independent) Armoured Bde, Territorial Army, Western Command, 1951-1953; Brig, 1953; Director, Fighting Vehicle Examination, Ministry of Supply, 1953-1954; Commandant, Royal Armoured Corps Centre, Bovington, Dorset, 1954; retired 1957; died 1987.
Born in 1910; 2nd Lt, Royal Tank Corps, 1930; Lt, 1933; Capt, Royal Tank Regt, 1938; served with 79 Armoured Div, 1943-1944, and 21 Army Group, 1944-1945; Maj, 1946; served in Middle East, 1946-1948; died in 1985.
Born in 1901; educated at St John's College, Southsea; 2nd Lt, Royal Army Signals Corps, 1925; Lt, 1927; Capt, 1935; Staff Capt, 1936-1939; served in France, North Africa and Italy, 1939-1945; Maj, 1939; Adjt, 1939; served with 15 Army Group, 1943; Deputy Quartermaster General to Gen Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, Commander-in-Chief, Allied Armies in Italy (15 Army Group), 1943-1944, and to Lt Gen Mark Wayne Clark, Commanding Gen, 15 Army Group, 1944-1945; Brig in charge of administration, British Troops in Egypt and Chairman of Operation SATIRE Works Committee, 1946-1947; Maj Gen, 1953; Director of Quartering, War Office, 1953-1954; Director of Supplies and Transport, War Office, 1954-1957; retired, 1957; Col Commandant, Royal Army Signal Corps, 1959-1964; Honorary Col, 101 Army Emergency Reserve Regt, Royal Corps of Transport, 1965-1967; died in 1984.
Born 1906; educated at Marlborough and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into Royal Tank Corps, 1926; service with 3 Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps, Egypt, 1928-1931; Lt, 1929; Assistant Instructor, Tank Driving and Maintenance School, Bovington, Dorset, 1933-1937; Capt, 1936; Adjutant, 6 Royal Tank Regt, Egypt, 1938-1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; temporary Maj, 1940; Bde Maj, 4 Armoured Bde, 1940; General Staff Officer 2, 7 Armoured Bde, Middle East, 1940; Commanding Officer, 3 Royal Tank Regt, 7 Armoured Div, 8 Army, Western Desert, 1941; awarded MC, 1941; wounded, Western Desert, 1942; commanded 22 Armoured Bde, 8 Army, Western Desert, 1942; awarded DSO, 1942; temporary command of 7 Armoured Div, North Africa, 1943; commanded 26 Armoured Bde, 1 Army, North Africa, 1943; commanded 30 Armoured Bde, UK, 1943; temporary Maj Gen, 1943; General Officer Commanding 11 Armoured Div, 1943-1946; served in North West Europe, 1944-1945; Maj Gen, 1945; awarded CB, 1945; General Officer Commanding 7 Armoured Div, 1947-1948; General Officer Commanding Hanover District, Germany, 1948; Director, Royal Armoured Corps, War Office, 1948-1949; retired, 1949; Director of Scribbans-Kemp, biscuit, cake and sweet manufacturers, 1949-1964; Justice of the Peace, Kent, 1960-1970; Hon Col, Kent and County of London Yeomanry Sqn, The Royal Yeomanry Regt, Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve, 1963-1970; died 1997. Publications: From the desert to the Baltic (Kimber, London, 1987).
Born 1921; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; joined RAF as an Aircraftman, Jul 1940; trained as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, 1940-1941; commissioned, Nov 1941; served in Anti Submarine Sqn, Coastal Command, and as an Instructor in RAF training units, 1942-1945; Flight Lt, Secretarial Branch, RAF, Sep 1945; RAF Staff College, Andover, Hampshire, 1952; Wg Cdr, 1959; Instructor, RAF Staff College, Andover, Hampshire, 1957-1960; employed in Intelligence, RAF Element, Allied Forces Southern Europe, Naples, Italy, 1960-1961; Wg Cdr, Administration, RAF Watton, Norfolk, 1965; Officer Commanding RAF Brampton, Technical Training Command, Huntingdonshire, 1966-1968; Gp Capt, 1969; Deputy Director, Directorate General of RAF Manning, Air Force Department, Ministry of Defence, London, 1969-1971; Director of Recruiting, RAF, Ministry of Defence, London, 1971-1973; Deputy Air Officer, Administration, Headquarters, Maintenance Command (later renamed Support Command), RAF, Andover, Hampshire, 1973-1975; Air Cdre, 1974; retired, 1976; died 1979.
Born, London, 1918; educated Cambridge University; 2 Lieutenant, emergency commission, Royal Regiment of Artillery, 1943; temporary Captain, 1945; Principal Scientific Officer, Army Medical Statistics Branch, War Office, 1951-1963; doctorate, University of London, [1961].
Born in 1896; served in World War One, 1914-1918; 2nd Lt 1914; service with The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regt) [1915-1917]; Lt 1916; joined Indian Army, 1917; awarded MC, 1918; Capt, 1919; Maj, 1933; service with 6 Royal Bn (Scinde), 13 Frontier Force Rifles, Indian Army, Kohat, Razmak and Ahmednager, North West Frontier, India, 1935-1939; qualified as Higher Standard Interpreter in Pashto, 1936; Lt Col, 1938; Commanding Officer, 6 Royal Bn (Scinde), 13 Frontier Force Rifles, Indian Army, 1938-1940; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; acting Col, 1940; Col, 1941; served as General Staff Officer 1, 5 Indian Div in operations clearing Italian forces from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Abyssinia,1941; present at Battle of Amba Alagi, Ethiopia, and negotiated surrender of the Italian Gen Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, Commander-in-Chief, Italian forces in East Africa, May 1941; awarded OBE, 1941; Brig, 1942; commanded 5 Indian Infantry Bde, 8 Army, Western Desert, 1942; awarded DSO, 1942; present at Second Battle of El Alamein, Oct 1942; commanded 8 Indian Div in Italy, 1943-1945; awarded CBE, 1944; Maj Gen, 1945; awarded CB, 1945; acting Lt Gen, 1947; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Delhi and East Punjab Command of Indian Army, 1947; Chief British Adviser to the Indian Army, 1948-1954; created KBE, 1950; Lt Gen, 1954; retired, 1954; died in 1978.
Born in 1876; educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge; 2nd Lt, Northumberland Fusiliers, 1898; served with Mounted Infantry in South Africa, 1899-1901; Lt, 1900; Capt, 1901; served on North West Frontier, India, 1908; served in France and Belgium, 1914-1918, and Italy, 1918; Maj, 1915; served in Iraq, 1919-1920; Lt Col, 1921; Col, 1923; publication of The 23rd Division, 1914-1919 (1925); Senior Officers' School, Woking, 1925-1928; Commander, Peshwar Bde, 1929-1932; retired pay, 1932; died in 1961.
Born 1855; educated at Cheltenham; commissioned into the Royal Artillery, 1875; Capt, 1883; served as Staff Officer and Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, Nile Expedition, Sudan, 1884-1885; Brevet Maj, 1885; Egyptian Frontier Field Force, 1885-1886; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, Cairo, Egypt, 1885-1890; Maj, 1891; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, Royal Artillery, Headquarters, Ireland, 1892-1895; Deputy Assistant Inspector General of the Ordnance, War Office, 1895-1898; Bde Maj, Aldershot, 1898-1899; Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899-1902; Staff Officer, Royal Artillery, South Africa, 1899-1900; Assistant Adjutant General, Royal Artillery and Col on Staff, Royal Artillery, South Africa, 1900-1902; Lt Col, 1900; Brevet Col, 1900; awarded CB, 1902; Col, 1902; Deputy Director General of the Ordnance, 1902-1904; Director of Artillery, War Office, 1904; Quartermaster General, India, 1904-1908; Maj Gen, 1906; General Officer Commanding Quetta Div, India, 1908-1912; Lt Gen, 1911; created KCB, 1913; served in World War One, 1914-1918; Adjutant General to the Forces and Member of Army Council, 1914-1916; appointed GCB, 1916; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command, 1916-1919; Gen, 1919; appointed GBE, 1919; retired 1922; died 1923.
Born 1902; educated at Wellington College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into the King's Own Scottish Borderers, 1923; served with 2 Bn, King's Own Scottish Borderers, in Egypt, Hong Kong, Shanghai and India, 1923-1932; Lt, 1925; Adjutant, 2 Bn, King's Own Scottish Borderers, 1929-1932; transferred to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) and promoted Capt, 1935; temporary Staff Capt, Malta, 1935-1936; graduated from Staff College, Camberley, 1938; General Staff Officer 3, Scottish Command, 1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Maj, 1940; Bde Maj, 154 Bde, 51 (Highland) Div, France, 1940; awarded OBE, 1940; temporary Lt Col, 1941; Commanding Officer, 6 Bn, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), converted into 93 Anti-tank Regt, Royal Artillery, Tunisia, 1942-1943; Commanding Officer, 8 Bn, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, 1943; awarded DSO, 1943; commanded 17 Indian Bde, 8 Indian Div, Italy, 1943-1944; temporary Brig, 1944; awarded Bar to DSO, 1944; commanded 167 (London) Bde, 56 Div, Italy, 1944-1946; awarded CBE, 1945; commanded 130 Bde, Germany, 1946; commanded 13 Bde, Trieste, 1946-1947; Deputy Director of Military Training, War Office, 1948-1950; Second in Command, 51 (Highland) Div, 1950-1952; Maj Gen, 1953; General Officer Commanding 51 (Highland) Div and Highland District, 1952-1956; awarded CB, 1954; Col, King's Own Scottish Borderers, 1954-1961; retired 1956; Councillor, Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire County Council, 1958-1967; President, Dumfries and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, 1962-1965; Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries, 1962-1967; Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1965-1967; Member of the British Society of Dowsers, 1966-1975; died 1996. Publications: Dowsing, one man's way (Spearman, Jersey, 1977)
Born 1922; educated at St Bees School, Cumberland; served in ranks, Scots Guards, 1941-1942; Royal Military Academy, Dehra Dun, India, 1942; commissioned into 7 Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army, 1942; temporary Capt, 1943-1944; Lt, 1944; served in Burma, 1944-1945; temporary Maj, 1945; awarded MC, 1945; transferred to 2 Bn, Border Regt, 1946-1947; 1 Bn, 2 Gurkha Rifles, Malaya, 1948-1951; Capt, 1949; graduated from Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, 1951; NATO Northern Flank, Norway, 1952-1954; 1 Bn, Border Regt, 1954-1956; Maj, 1956; Headquarters, 6 Bde, 1956-1958; attended Joint Services Staff College, 1959; Instructor, Staff College, Camberley, 1960-1963; brevet Lt Col, 1962; Ministry of Defence, 1963-1965; awarded OBE, 1965; Commanding Officer, 1 Bn, King's Own Royal Border Regt, 1965-1967; Brig, 1967; commanded 19 Infantry Bde, 1967-1969; National Defence College, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 1969-1970; Maj Gen, 1970; Chief of Staff to Gen Sir (Richard) Michael (Power) Carver, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, 1970-1972; appointed Col of the King's Own Royal Border Regt, 1971; Chief of Staff, Headquarters UK Land Forces, 1972; Director of Military Operations, Ministry of Defence, 1972-1975; Lt Gen, 1975; created KCB, 1975; Vice Chief of the General Staff, 1975-1978; Col Commandant, Army Physical Training Corps, 1976-1981; Gen, 1978; Commander-in-Chief, British Army of the Rhine and Commander, Northern Army Group, West Germany, 1978-1980; Aide de Camp General to the Queen, 1980- 1981; died 1981.
Born 1912; educated at Dulwich College; joined RAF, 1933; served with No 4 Flying Training School, Abu Suweir, Egypt, 1933-1934, and No 30 Bomber Sqn, Mosul and Habbaniyah, Iraq, 1934-1937; Pilot Officer, 1934; Test Pilot, Aeroplane and Armaments Experimental Establishment, No 24 (Training) Group, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, 1937-1939; Flight Lt, 1938; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Test Pilot, Aeroplane and Armaments Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, 1939-1941; Wg Cdr, 1941; attached to No 604 Sqn, Middle Wallop, Hampshire, 1941-1942; formed first De Havilland Mosquito Night Fighter Sqn, Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire, 1942; Commanding Officer, No 157 Sqn, Fighter Command, 1942; Commanding Officer, Handling Sqn, Empire Central Flying School, Hullavington, Wiltshire, 1943; Gp Capt, commanding No 157 Sqn and No 85 Sqn, 1944; Commanding Officer, No 169 Sqn, 1944; Commanding Officer, RAF Station, Swannington, Norfolk, Bomber Command, 1944-1945; commanded 148 and 138 Wings, British Air Forces of Occupation, 1945-1946; Chief Test Pilot and Superintendent of Flying, Fairey Aviation Limited, 1946-1959; involved in the establishment of a new World Absolute Speed Record of 1132 miles per hour by a Fairey Delta II, piloted by (Lionel) Peter Twiss, 1956; awarded OBE, 1957; Director, Fairey Aviation Limited, 1959-1960; Director, Fairey Air Surveys Limited, 1959-1972; General Manager, Fairey Hydraulics Limited, 1961-1965; Managing Director, Fairey Hydraulics Limited, 1965-1975; Director, Fairey Filtration Limited, 1970-1972; Chairman, Fairey Hydraulics Limited, 1975-1981; Member, Council of Society of British Aerospace Companies, 1976-1978; Member of the Council of the Confederation of British Industry, 1976-1978; retired 1977; Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society; Liveryman, Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators; died 1981.
Born in 1893; served with King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, France and Belgium, 1914-1917; killed in action in 1917.
Born in 1896; educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Royal Military College Sandhurst and Staff College, Camberley; served in World War Two, 1914-1919, in France and Belgium with Army Service Corps and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1916-1918; served in World War Two, 1939-1945, in Middle East, 1939-1944 and North West Europe, 1944-1945; Maj Gen, 1943; Deputy Quarter Master General, ME/AE, 1943-1944; Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, 1944-1945; Maj Gen in charge of administration, Northern Command, 1945-1947; Chief of Staff, Northern Command, 1947-1948; Director of Supplies and Transport, War Office, 1948-1951; retired, 1951; Col Commandant, Royal Army Service Corps, 1950-1960; Chairman of the Royal Ulster Society in London, 1964-1973; died in 1988.
Born 1922; educated at Charterhouse; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; joined RAF, 1940; flying training in Canada, 1941; Fighter Reconnaissance Sqn, European theatre, 1942-1944; Flying Instructors School, 1944; Airborne Forces, 1945; 615 (County of Surrey) Sqn, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1946-1948; Fighter Gunnery School, 1949-1950; Commanding Officer, 615 Sqn, 1951-1954; awarded AFC, 1954; RAF Staff College, Bracknell, Berkshire, 1954; Chiefs of Staff Secretariat, 1955-1958; Commanding Officer, 46 Sqn, RAF, 1958-1960; Personal Staff Officer to ACM Sir Thomas (Geoffrey) Pike, Chief of the Air Staff, 1960-1962; Commanding Officer, RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, 1962-1964; Imperial Defence College, London, 1965; awarded CBE, 1965; Senior Air Staff Officer, Middle East Command (Aden), 1966-1967; awarded CB, 1968; Director of Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence, 1968-1970; Senior Air Staff Officer, RAF Training Command, 1970-1972; Commandant, National Defence College, 1972-1975; Director General, RAF Training, 1975-1977; UK Representative, Permanent Military Deputies Group CENTO (Central Treaty Organisation), 1977-1979; created KCB, 1978; Research Fellow, International Institute of Strategic Studies, 1980-1981; Chairman, Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, 1981-1993; Member, Board of Conservators, Ashdown Forest, since 1984; Chairman, Victory Services Association, 1985-1989; Chairman, RAF Historical Society, 1986-1996; President, Victory Services Association, 1989-1993; Trustee, Guild of Aviation Artists, since 1990; Trustee, Amberley Chalk Pits Museum, since 1990; Vice Chairman, Board of Conservators, Ashdown Forest, 1991-1993; President, Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, since 1993; Life Vice President, RAF Historical Society, 1996. Publications: Contributited to D Day Encyclopedia, edited by David G Chandler and James Lawton Collins, Jr (Simon Schuster, New York, 1994).
Born 1897; educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, Warwickshire; served in World War One, 1914-1918; commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), 1915; service on the Western Front, 1915-1918; service with 5 Bn and 7 Bn, The South Staffordshire Regt, Territorial Army, 1923-1950; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; served on attachment with 1 Bn, Northamptonshire Regt, 3 Corps, BEF (British Expeditionary Force), France, Apr-May 1940; service in UK, 1940-1943; Second in Command, 5 Bn, The South Staffordshire Regt, Prudhoe, County Durham, 1941; served in Northern Ireland, 1942; service in North West Europe, 1944-1945; Maj, France, 1945; Director of Globe Brick and Tile Company; Director, Burberry Brick Company; Director of a brass foundry in the Midlands; died 1975.
Born 1912; educated at Wellington and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into The Devonshire Regt, 1932; Lt, 1935; service as Intelligence Officer, 14 Infantry Bde, Palestine, 1938; awarded MC, 1938; General Staff Officer 3, British Forces in Palestine and Transjordan, 1939-1940; served in World War Two, 1939-1945, with the Rifle Brigade, 1 Special Air Service Regt (SAS), and in Yugoslavia; acting Capt, 1939-1940; General Staff Officer 3, General Headquarters, Middle East, Cairo, Egypt, 1940; Capt, 1940; service in Kenya, 1940; attended Staff Course, Haifa, Palestine, 1940; General Staff Officer 3, G2, Force Headquarters, Athens, Greece, 1941; Officer in charge of beach at Port Raphtis during Allied evacuation of Greece, 1941; General Staff Officer 2, 1941; awarded OBE, 1941; General Staff Officer 2, General Headquarters, Middle East, 1941-1942; War Substantive Maj, 1942; General Staff Officer 1, 1942; acting Lt Col, 1942; service with 1 Special Air Service Regt (SAS), based at Kabrit, Egypt, and raided behind enemy lines, North Africa, 1942-1943; captured by Italians, 1942; escaped from torpedoed Italian submarine, 1943; service with Rifle Bde, Tunisia, 1943; General Staff Officer 1, 1943-1944; awarded DSO, 1944; Assistant Quartermaster General, 1944; General Staff Officer 1 and Second in Command, British Military Mission, Yugoslavia, 1944; commanded Bde, 1945; Maj, 1946; General Staff Officer 2, War Office, 1946-1947; General Staff Officer 2, Anti-Aircraft Command, 1947-1948; General Staff Officer 2, Directing Staff, Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, 1948-1950; General Staff Officer 1, Defence Ministry, 1950-1952; Brevet Lt Col, 1951; Lt Col, 1953; Col, 1954; temporary Brig, 1954; commanded Parachute Bde, Territorial Army, 1954-1956; Deputy Director of Staff Duties, War Office, 1956-1957; awarded CBE, 1958; Military Adviser to Hussein bin Talal, King of Jordan, 1959-1961; Brig, 1960; Maj Gen, 1961; General Officer Commanding 3 Div, 1961-1962; awarded CMG, 1962; retired 1963; Justice of the Peace, 1966; Member, National Hunt Committee, 1967; Chairman, Save the Children Fund, 1967; died 1970.
Flag Officer, Signal Sqn, No 1 Electrical and Wireless School, 1937-1938; served with 10 Sqn, 1943-1944; died in 1995.
Born in 1907; educated at Loretto School and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; 2nd Lt, Seaforth Highlanders, 1927; Lt, 1930; served on North West Frontier, India, [1930-1931]; served at Seaforth Highlanders' Depot, Fort George, 1937-1938; Capt, 1938; joined British Military Mission, Iraq, 1939; served in North Africa, 1942-1943, and Sicily, 1943; taken prisoner by Germans in Sicily, 1943, and taken to Italy; escaped, recaptured by Italians and sought sanctuary in the Vatican City, 1943-1944; Maj, 1944; commanded 5 Seaforth Highlanders, 1945; commanded Seaforth Highlanders' Depot, Fort George, [1945-1950]; Lt Col, 1950; commanded 11 Seaforth Highlanders Territorial Army, 1950-1953; Commander, 152 Highland Infantry Bde, 1953; retired, 1953; died in 1980.
Son of Lt Col Charles Mytton Thornycroft CBE, DSO; born before 1914, probably in Hereford; served with 7th Bn, Norfolk Regt (Territorial Army), 1939-45. captured when serving with Reconnaissance Platoon, 7th Norfolks, Normandy, 1940, and transferred to Prisoner of War Camp OFLAG VIIB; escaped from OFLAG VIIB, 1944, and spent 12 days on the run; captured by Gestapo and spent 100 days in Gestapo prison, died in Zimbabwe, early 1990s.
Born 1926; educated at Rugby School; service in World War Two, 1939-1945; served in ranks, 1943-1944; commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, 1944; service with 1 Bn, 2 Bn and 4 Bn, Grenadier Guards in the UK, Germany, Egypt, British Cameroons and British Guiana, 1944-1962; War Substantive Lt, 1945; Lt, 1947; temporary Capt, 1949-1953; Capt, 1953; temporary Maj, 1954; member of Sir William Penney's Scientific Party to UK Atomic Trials, South Australia, 1956; published playwright, 1958-1984; Bde Maj, 2 Federation Infantry Bde, Malaya, 1959-1961; Maj, 1960; General Staff Officer 2, Army Department, Ministry of Defence, 1965-1967; service in Aden, 1967; Lt Col, 1967; commanded Muscat Regt, Sultan of Muscat's Armed Forces, Muscat and Oman, 1967-1970; service in conflict against People's Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arab Gulf (PFLOAG) rebel forces, Dhofar, 1967-1970; Assistant Quartermaster General, London District, 1970-1971; Col, 1971; Commander, British Army Staff, Singapore, and Governor, Singapore International School, 1971-1973; Senior Army Representative, UK National Cell, ANZUK (Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom) Joint Force, Far East Land Forces, 1972; Deputy Director, Defence Operational Plans (Army), 1973-1974; Brig, 1975; Head of Ministry of Defence Logistics Survey Team to Saudi Arabia, 1976; retired, 1977; Chairman, Joint Staff, Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, Oman, 1977-1981; retired from Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, 1981; Chairman, Individual School Direction Limited, 1981-1991; Chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association, Fulham, London, 1982-1991; died 1991.
Born Upton Park, London, 1890; joined HMS KENT as clerk, 1909; Assistant Paymaster, 1911; joined HMS VENUS, 1911; killed in action on board HMS INVINCIBLE, Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.
Born 1911; educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent and St John's College, Cambridge; organist and director of music, King's School, Canterbury, Kent, 1936-1939; Lt, Supplementary Reserve, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt, 1934; Lt, Regular Army Reserve of Officers, 1938; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; service with Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt, France and Belgium, 1939-1940; graduated from Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, 1941; General Staff Officer 2, Headquarters 9 Corps and General Staff Officer 1, 1 Army, North Africa, 1942-1943; Maj, 1943; General Staff Officer 1, Headquarters Persia and Iraq, 1943-1944; General Staff Officer 1, War Office, 1944-1946; Registrar and Secretary, Queen Mary College, University of London, from 1946; member of Essex Education Committee, 1957-1965; Chairman, Brentwood Group Hospital Management Committee, from 1958; Justice of the Peace for Essex, 1960, and North East London, 1965; Hon Col, London University Officer Training Corps, Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve, 1968; member of Greater London Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve Association from 1968; Deputy Chairman, Universities Central Council on Admissions, 1972; died 1994.
Born 1861; educated at Cranleigh School, Kent and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry, 1881; Sudan Expedition, 1884-1886; transferred to Indian Army, 1886; Hunza Naga Expedition, India, 1891-1892; Capt, 1892; garrison commander during siege of Chitral Fort, North West Frontier, India, 1895; Maj, 1895; awarded CB, 1895; transferred to Egyptian Army, 1896; Lt Col, 1896; Dongola Expedition, Sudan, 1896; Commanding Officer, 12 Sudanese Bn, Egypt, 1896-1898; Nile Expedition, Sudan, 1898; Battles of Atbara and Khartoum, Sudan, 1898; awarded DSO, 1898; Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899-1902; Assistant Adjutant General on staff of Military Governor, Orange Free State, South Africa, 1900; transferred to Royal Fusiliers, 1900; Col, 1904; Military Attaché, Paris, France, 1905; transferred to King's Shropshire Light Infantry, 1906; Assistant Adjutant General, 9 Div, India, 1907-1908; command of Orange River Colony District, South Africa, 1908-1911; Brig Gen, 1909; Maj Gen, 1911; General Officer Commanding East Anglian Div, Territorial Force, 1911-1913; command of Jhanzi Bde, India, 1913; Rawal Pindi Bde, India, 1913-1915; served World War One, 1914-1918; General Officer Commanding 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamia, 1915-1916; commanded 6 Indian Div at Battles of Kurna, Kut el Amara, Ctesiphon and the defence and siege of Kut el Amara, 1915-1916; POW, 1916-1918; created KCB, 1917; resigned, 1920; Independent Conservative MP for the Wrekin, Shropshire, 1920-1922; died 1924. Publications: The military life of Field Marshal George, first Marquess Townshend, 1724-1807 (John Murray, London, 1901); My Campaign in Mesopotamia (Thornton Butterworth, London, 1920).
James Lindsay Travers: born in 1883; educated at King's College, London, 1902-1906; apprentice at Legros and Knowles Engineering Works, Willesden, 1906-1909; draughtsman, Royal Engineers Balloon Factory, Farnborough, 1909, working chiefly on wind balances for wind tunnel; Assistant to Professor A K Huntington in aviation experiments, Eastchurch, 1909; undertook private aviation experiments, 1910; appointed as designer and assistant to Short Brothers, Eastchurch, 1911, and worked on aeroplanes, floating devices and first twin-engined aeroplanes; undertook instruction, flew passengers and raced for Graham-White Company, Hendon, 1911-1912; joined Naval Wing of Royal Flying Corps, 1912; flew and tested seaplanes and undertook experiments with flying boats and night flying, Calshot Air Station, 1913-1914; Flight Cdr, Royal Naval Air Service, 1914; Commanding Officer, Calshot Air Station, 1915; appointed to Felixstowe to investigate problems connected with handling of seaplanes on ships, 1916; appointed to Air Department, Admiralty, to test new types of flying boats, 1917; commanded test flight, Isle of Grain Test Depot, 1917; Wg Cdr, 1917; Lt Col, RAF, 1918; in charge of technical information, Civil Aviation Department, Air Ministry, 1920-1921; Technical Adviser to Chilean Naval Air Service, 1921-1923; died in air crash, 1924. Herbert Gardner Travers: born in 1891; worked for Joseph Travers and Sons Limited, trading merchants, London, 1910-1914; joined Machine Gun Section, 1 Bn, Honourable Artillery Company and posted to France, 1914; joined Royal Naval Air Service, 1915; undertook reconnaissance flights in France, 1916-1917; flew on North Sea anti-submarine patrols, 1917; served in France with 211 Sqn, RAF, 1918; test pilot and seaplane pilot, Blackburn Aeroplane and Manufacturing Company, Athens, Greece, 1926-1928; pilot instructor, Bristol and Wessex Club, Cinque Ports Flying Club, and London Aeroplane Club, 1928-1933; pilot, National Air Display, 1934; pilot, Spartan Air Lines, Imperial Airways and British Airways, 1935-1938; Flight Lt, Administration and Special Duties Branch, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 1939-1945; died in 1958. Charles Tindal Travers: born in 1898; 2nd Lt, 1 Worcestershire Regt, 1916; served with 10 and 84 Sqns Royal Flying Corps, BEF, France, 1917-1918; studied at King's College, London, 1920-1923; served with Royal Canadian Air Force, 1928-1932; Air Engineer and Pilot , Manitoba Forestry Service, Canada, 1932-1934; died in 1969.
Born in 1917; educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham and Royal Naval College, Greenwich; Naval Cadet, Dartmouth, 1931; served in HMS FROBISHER, HMS BARHAM; transferred to engineering branch, 1935; served in HMS NELSON, HMS DUKE OF YORK and HMS DIDO, [1939-1945]; Engineer Officer, HMS CADIZ; Cdr, 1950; Officer-in-Charge, Gas Turbine Section, Department of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Fleet, Admiralty, 1951-1954; Engineer Officer, HMS ALBION, [1954-1956]; Director of Engineering, Royal Naval Engineering College, Plymouth, 1956-[1959]; Engineer Capt, 1959; Assistant Director of Marine Engineering, Ship Department, Admiralty, 1959-[1963]; Commanding Officer, HMS SULTAN, 1963-1964; Captain of Naval Base, Portland, 1966-1968; R Adm, 1968; Naval ADC to Queen Elizabeth II, 1968; Assistant Controller (Polaris), Ministry of Defence, 1968-1971; V Adm, 1971; Chief of Fleet Support and Member of Board of Admiralty, 1971-1974; died 2001.
Born in 1915; educated at Malvern College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 1935; served in India, 1936-1939, France and Belgium, 1939-1940; General Staff Officer Grade 3, HQ 4 Div, 1941-1942; Bde Maj, 1942-1943; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Long Range Penetration (LRP) force (Chindits), HQ Special Force, Burma, 1943-1945; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, General HQ, India, 1946; General Staff Officer Grade 2 War Office, 1947-1948; Maj, 1948; General Staff Officer Grade 2, Staff College, Camberley, 1949-1952; General Staff Officer Grade 1, HQ Northern Army Group, 1955-1957; Commanding Officer, 1 Bn, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 1957-1959; Commander, 130 Infantry Bde (Territorial Army), 1961-1963; Director of Administrative Planning (Army), 1963-1964; Brig Gen, General Staff (Operations), Ministry of Defence, 1965-1966; Maj Gen, 1966; General Officer Commanding Singapore District, 1966-1970; retired, 1970.
Born 1914; educated at Aysgarth School, Winchester College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; commissioned into Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, Aug 1934; served in France, 1939-1940; participated in Operation DYNAMO, the evacuation of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) from Dunkirk, May-June 1940; attended Staff College, Camberley, 1941; served as Brigade Maj with 126 Infantry Bde and 11 Armoured (Tank) Bde, UK, 1941-1943; Lt Col, 1943; 10 Armoured Div, Middle East, 1943-1944; 12 Royal Tank Regt, Italy, 1944-1945; 1 Div, Palestine, 1945-1946; School of Land/Air Operations, Old Sarum, 1947; War Office, 1948; Staff College, Camberley, 1949-1950; served with 11 Armoured Div in Germany, 1950-1953; Military Assistant to Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1953-1956; Officer commanding 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards, 1956-1957; retired 1957; worked for WH Smith, 1957-1977; Managing Director of WH Smith, 1968; died 2002.
Born in 1900; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Camberley; commissioned into Grenadier Guards, 1919; served in Turkey, 1922-1923; ADC to the Governor of South Australia, 1928-1929; Capt, 1929; General Staff Officer, Grade 3, 1935-1938; Maj, 1937; Staff College, Camberley, 1938-1939; transferred to Irish Guards, 1939; served in World War Two, France and Belgium, 1939-1940; Instructor at Staff College, Camberley, 1940; officer commanding 2 Battalion Irish Guards, 1940-1942; commander of 32 Guards Brigade, UK, and Brig, 1942; 6 Guards Tank Brigade, UK and Normandy, France, 1942-1944; Maj Gen and 7 Armoured Division, North West Europe, 1944; 1 Guards Brigade, Italy and Austria, 1944-1945; Military Commander, Vienna, Austria, 1945-1946; commander of 56 (London) Armoured Division (Territorial Army), 1946-1948; retired 1948; published The Desert Rats (Hutchinson, London, 1954); Guards Armoured Division, a short history (Hutchinson, London, 1955); The Devil's Wind, the story of the Naval Brigade at Lucknow (Hutchinson, London, 1956); died in 1957.
Born 1894; educated at Oundle School and Merton College, Oxford; served in World War One, 1914-1918; served on Western Front with 1/7 (Robin Hood) Bn, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt), Territorial Force, 1915-1918; temporary Capt, 1915; awarded VC for action at Hohenzollern Redoubt, Battle of Loos, France, 14 Oct 1915 (award gazetted, 18 Nov 1915); Lt, 1916; Maj, 1918; Second in Command, 1 Bn, The Lincolnshire Regt, 1918; admitted as a Solicitor, 1923; Partner, Slaughter and May, 1926-1945; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; re-commissioned as a Col; seconded as Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economic Warfare, in charge of economic intelligence; Member, Joint Intelligence Committee of Chiefs of Staff, 1941-1945; Member, London passenger Transport Board, 1941-1946; Member, Council of Law Society, 1944-1948; Knighted, 1946; Legal Adviser to National Coal Board, 1946-1948; Member of National Coal Board in charge of manpower, training, education, health and welfare, 1948-1955; Chairman, Research Committee of Mental Health Research Fund, 1951-1967; Member, Medical Research Council, 1952-1960; Director, Parkinson Cowan Limited, 1955-1965; died 1982. Publications: The undirected society. Essays on the human implications of industrialisation in Canada (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada, 1959); The art of judgement. A study of policy making (Chapman and Hall, London, 1965); Towards a sociology of management (Chapman and Hall, London, 1967); Value systems and social process (Tavistock Publications, London, 1968); Freedom in a rocking boat: changing values in an unstable society (Allen Lane, London, 1970); Making institutions work (Associated Business Programmes, London, 1973); Responsibility: its sources and limits [1980]; Human systems are different (Harper and Row, London, 1983); The Vickers papers, edited by Open Systems Group (Harper and Row, London, 1984); Policymaking, communication, and social learning: essays of Sir Geoffrey Vickers, edited by Guy B Adams, John Forester and Bayard L Catron (Transaction Books, New Brunswick, USA, 1987).
Born in 1901; educated at Repton School and RAF Cadet College, Cranwell; commissioned, 1921; various posts in Coastal Command, 1921-1939; served in First Lord's Operations Room, Admiralty, 1939-1942; commanded RAF Station, St Eval, Cornwall, 1942, commanded Coastal Command Station, Nassau, Bahamas, 1942-1944; served at Supreme HQ, Allied Expeditionary Force, 1944-1946; Director of Air Branch, Control Commission, Berlin, 1947-1949; devised and organised the Air Lift to Berlin in 1948; conducted Anglo-Russian enquiry into collision between Yak fighter and GB civilian aircraft flying from Hamburg to Berlin during the Berlin Airlift, 1948; Commandant, RAF Bircham Newton; Assistant Chief of Staff, Allied Air Forces, Central Europe, 1951-1953; retired 1953; died in 1975.
Born 1927; educated at Worksop College, Nottinghamshire; joined Army, 1945; commissioned into Worcestershire Regt in India, 1946; served in India and Middle East, 1946-1948; regular commission into Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regt, 1948; served with British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and in Far East, Nigeria and Congo, 1950-1963; transferred to Parachute Regt, 1963; commanded 3 Bn, Parachute Regt, 1967-1969; served in Hong Kong, 1969-1970; Commander, 16 Parachute Bde, 1970-1973; National Defence College, Canada, 1973-1974; Deputy Adjutant General, BAOR, 1964-1975; Director of Army Air Corps, 1976-1979; General Officer Commanding Western District, 1979-1982; Deputy Colonel, Royal Anglian Regt, 1982-1987; Secretary, Eastern Wessex, Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Association, 1982-1989; died, 2002.
Born in 1913; educated at Edinburgh Academy, Trinity College, Glenalmond, Edinburgh University and the University of Pennsylvania, USA; served with 7/9 Bn, The Royal Scots (Lothian Regt), Territorial Army, and the Royal Army Medical Corps, UK, Sicily, Italy and North West Europe, World War Two, 1939-1945; Lt Col, 1942; Col, 1944; Assistant Director of Medical Services, 1 Airborne Div, Battle of Arnhem, Operation MARKET GARDEN, the Netherlands, 1944; awarded DSO, 1945; awarded Territorial Decoration, 1946; local Brig, Territorial Army, 1960; Chairman, Edinburgh, Lothians and Peebles Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association, 1962; publication of Travel by dark: after Arnhem (Harvill, London, 1963); Deputy Lieutenant, Edinburgh, 1963; President, Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland, 1967; awarded CBE, 1968; Hon Col, 144 Parachute Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (Volunteers), 1969; Member of Queen's Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers); Chairman, Royal British Legion, Scotland, 1981-1984; died in 1985.
Born, 1925; 36 Div, US Army, Florida, France and Italy, 1943-1945; one time War Studies student, King's College London.
ACM Sir Neil Wheeler was born 1917; educated St Helens College, Hants; Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, 1935; Bomber Command, 1937-1940; Fighter and Coastal Commands, 1940-1945; Royal Air Force and US Army Staff Colleges, 1934-1944; Cabinet Office, 1944-1945; Directing Staff, Royal Air Force Staff College, 1945-1946; Far East Air Force, 1947-1949; Directing Staff, Joint Services Staff College, 1949-1951; Bomber Command, 1951-1953; Air Ministry, 1953-1957; Assistant Commandant, Royal Air Force College, 1957-1959; Officer Commanding, RAF Laarbruch, 1959-1960; Imperial Defence College, 1961; Ministry of Defence, 1961-1963; Senior Air Staff Officer, Headquarters, RAF Germany, 1963-1966; Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operational Requirements), Ministry of Defence, 1966-1967; Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, 1967-1968; Commander, Far East Air Force, 1969-1970; Air Member for Supply and Organisation, Ministry of Defence, 1970-1973; Controller, Aircraft, Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive; 1973-1975; retired 1975.
Born in 1913; 2nd Lt, Royal Engineers, 1933; Lt, 1936; served in Palestine, [1936-1939]; Capt, 1941; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, General HQ, Middle East Land Forces, 1941-1942; General Staff Officer Grade 2 under Engineer-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces, 1943; Staff Officer, Royal Engineers, Grade 2, 30 Corps, 1944, 1946; Bde Maj, 1944-1945; HQ, 5 Div, 1946-1948; Maj, 1946; General Staff Officer Grade 2 under Inspector of Establishments, War Office, 1948-1951; Staff Officer, Royal Engineers, Grade 1, HQ British Troops in Egypt, 1951-1953; Lt Col, 1954; commanded 24 Engineer Group (Territorial Army), 1958; died in 1992.
Born, 1892; educated, Eton College, [1906-1907]; Coldstream Guards, 1917; 99 Light Anti-Aircraft Regt during World War Two, 1939-1945; Head of British Military Government, Graz, Steiermark, Austria, 1945; died, 1983.
Born 1909, son of Sir Arthur Willert, Times Correspondent, Washington, 1910-1920; worked in publishing, Germany and New York, 1936-1939, work in propaganda, Paris and London, 1939-1940, service with RAF, 1941-1944, and as Air Attaché, Paris, 1944-1945.
Born 1874; educated HMS BRITANNIA and King's College Cambridge; member of Institution of Civil Engineers; worked as designer of motor cars; joined Royal Naval Air Service [1914]; served as Lt in Armoured Car Div, RN, 1914; worked for Landships Committee on design of armoured fighting vehicles; Chief of Design, Mechanical Warfare Department, War Office, 1916-1918; with Sir William Tritton worked with Lt Col Sir Albert Gerald Stern on the design of first tank, 1915-1916; temporary Maj Tank Corps, 1916; awarded CMG, 1918; member of Special Vehicle Development Committee, Ministry of Supply [1939-1942]; died 1957.
Born in 1909; Lt, Royal Army Medical Corps, 1934; Capt, 1935; served in Palestine, [1936-1939]; commanded 3 Field Ambulance in Italy, 1943-1944; Maj, 1944; Lt Col, 1949; Col 1958.
The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee (PRC), was set up following the outbreak of war in August 1914. This was a cross-party organisation chaired by the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith. It utilised the party infrastructure in parliamentary constituencies to support recruitment - party activists were called upon to distribute leaflets, and organise rallies, processions and public meetings. The PRC commissioned some 200 posters, mostly published before the introduction of conscription, Jan 1916. In Jul 1915, the PRC became the Parliamentary War Savings Committee.
Born in 1912; educated at Marlborough College, Royal Military College, Sandhurst and Staff College, Camberley; 2nd Lt, Wiltshire Regt (Duke of Edinburgh's Regt), 1932; Lt, 1935; personal assistant to Resident in Mysore, 1936-1938; seconded to Malay Regt, 1939-1945; Capt, 1940; wounded and held by Japanese as POW at Alexandra Hospital, Singapore, 1942, and Changi camp, 1942-1945; Maj, 1946; Staff College, Camberley, 1947; Military Secretary's Department, War Office, 1948-1950; Assistant Quartermaster General, HQ Western Command, 1952; Lt Col, 1953; commanded 4 Bn, Wiltshire Regt (Territorial Army), 1953-1956; Col, HQ Federation Army, Kuala Lumpur, 1956-1957; Military Adviser to Malayan High Commissioner in UK, London, 1957-1958; commanded 107 Ulster Independent Infantry Bde Group (Territorial Army), 1958-1961; retired in 1961; died in 1984.
Born in 1909; Administrative Officer, Mental Hospitals Department, London County Council, 1928-1932; Administrative Officer, Department of the Clerk of the Council, 1932-1942; studied history at King's College London, 1931-1934; Ambulance Control Officer, London Ambulance Services, 1939-1942; served with 51 Training Regt, Royal Armoured Corps, UK, 1942 and with Royal Army Ordnance Corps in UK, 1942-1943, India, 1942-1945, and Burma, 1945-1946; Commander, No 52 Ordnance Field Depot, Myngaladon, Burma, 1945; Commander, No 62 Ordnance Field Depot, Rangoon, 1945-1946; served on Public Control Committee, London County Council, 1946, and Parks Committee, 1947-1954; postgraduate, Theology Faculty, King's College London, 1949-1952; Council Clerk, London County Council, 1954-1970; retired in 1970.
The Women's Employment Publishing Company Ltd was established by the Central Employment Bureau for Women around 1913/14 in order to deal with its publications. The Central Bureau had been issuing the twice-monthly journal 'Women's Employment' since 1899 and other occasional publications in connection with their work and it was this that the Women's Employment Publishing Company continued from the parent organisation's offices in Russell Square. In addition to the main periodical, the press was also responsible for the publication of numerous editions of 'Careers [later, 'and Vocational Training']: A Guide to the Professions and Occupations of Educated Women and Girls', 'The Finger Post', 'Hints on how to find work' and 'Open Doors for Women Workers'. The directors just before the outbreak of the Second World War were H John Faulk (Chairman), Miss E R Unmack (Managing Director) and Miss A E Hignell (secretary). Despite problems cause by this disruption and a decline in the number of readers in this period, the company survived and continued publishing 'Women's Employment' until 1974.
Anna Helene Askanasy (fl 1930-1970) was a Viennese woman, and Gustav Mahler's niece, who appears to have been involved in both the women's movement and the movement for peace which sprang up in Austria in the wake of the First World War. She spoke at the conference on statelessness which was organised by Mary Sheepshanks at the request of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and which was held in Sep 1930. She also entered into correspondence with both Robert Briffault and Mary Beard at some point. At another stage she began writing a book in German whose English translation was 'The Catastrophe of Patriarchy' and worked with Birgitta M Schulte on the publication of the 'Lexikon der Frau' in Switzerland in 1953-1954. She appears to have been active until around 1970.
Catherine Mary Charlotte Stott (1907-2002), known as Mary, was born in Leicester. She was the only daughter of two journalists, Robert and Amalie Waddington (née Bates), and had two older brothers. Her uncle, Henry Bates, was a local journalist. For nearly 50 years she worked in newspapers. Mary became interested in politics after accompaning her mother to meetings of local women Liberals during the First World War. Her first memory was of being driven around with a green ribbon in her hat, campaigning in the 1911 general election. After attending Wyggeston Leicester grammar school Mary worked as a temporary copyholder at the Leicester Mail, and then at the age of 19 she was appointed the women's editor. She was unable to join either the Typographical Association or the Correctors of the Press Association because neither accepted women members. In 1931 she moved to the Co-operative Press in Manchester, where she edited the two pages of the weekly Co-op News devoted mainly to reports of the women's co-operative guild, and children's publications. In 1945 she accepted John Beavan's offer of a sub-editing job on the Manchester Evening News. In 1950 she was sacked in order to protect the male succession to the post of chief sub-editor. She spent the next seven years mainly in 'domesticity'. In 1937, Mary married Ken Stott, a journalist at the News Chronicle, always known to her simply as 'K'. They lived in Heaton Moor, Cheshire until he died in 1967, at the age of 56. They had one daughter, a journalist named Catherine. Stott later moved to a flat in Blackheath, south London. In 1957 the then Guardian's editor, Alastair Hetherington, asked Mary to edit the paper's women's page, and she became the women's page editor of the 'Guardian' until 1972. Mary had a keen interest in equal rights for women, but also other forms of discrimination: poverty, unemployment or disability. She was particularly keen on women's financial independence. The Mainly For Women title became, in 1969, Woman's Guardian, which ran until 1973. After a two-year change of tack as Guardian Miscellany, Guardian Women re-emerged, with Stott still a contributor. Stott encouraged women - both professional and non-professional writers - to write articles that were published in her pages, often receiving over 50 unsolicited manuscripts per week. She was a founder member in 1970 of the pressure group Women in Media and last president of the Women's Press Club in 1970. She also established the National Association for Widows, of which she was president from 1993 to 1995. She chaired the Fawcett Society from 1980-1982. Her autobiography, 'Forgetting's No Excuse', was published in 1973 and it focused on her experience of widowhood. Her second volume of memoirs, 'Before I Go' (1985), contained reflections on old age. Stott's other books include: 'Organisation Woman: The Story of the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds' (1978), 'Ageing for Beginners' (1981), 'Women Talking: An Anthology From the Guardian Women's Pages 1922-1953 and 1957-1971' (1987). She was also interested in classical music and in painting. She received several honours: she won the Granada Award for the liveliest daily interest page in journalism in 1971; an honorary fellowship from Manchester Polytechnic in 1972; awarded the OBE for services to journalism in 1975; an honorary MA from the Open University in 1991; and an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 1996.
Until the end of the nineteenth century, most middle-class girls were educated at home by the family, unlike their brothers who routinely attended university, and the schools which did cater for them were generally of a very poor academic standard, with emphasis on 'accomplishments' such as embroidery and music. However, some, such as Louisa Martindale, tried to start their own schools for girls with more academically demanding curricula. Despite the failure of Martindale's exercise, Frances Mary Buss followed in her footsteps when, at the age of twenty-three, she founded the North London Collegiate School for Ladies with similar aims. In 1858 Dorothea Beale became Principal of the already extant Cheltenham Ladies College and soon transformed it into one of the most academically successful schools in the country while at the same time working to improve teaching standards through her work with the Head Mistresses' Association and The Teachers' Guild. In 1865 Beale began collaborating with Emily Davis, Barbara Bodichon, Helen Taylor, Frances Buss, and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, in forming a debating society which became known as the Kensington Society. There, these women, who would be crucial in the development of these schools, met for the first time to discuss this and other topics such as women's franchise. Nor did they confine their attentions to the education of girls but also researched the question of the subsequent entrance of women into higher education. The Queen's College in London had already opened in 1847 to provide a superior level of education to governesses and had proved a success without being an accredited institution of higher education itself. In this context and influenced by the London group, a large number of Ladies' Educational Associations sprang up throughout the 1860s and 1870s. Those in Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, etc, were brought together in 1867 by Anne Clough as the North of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education of Women and its members included Josephine and George Butler as well as Elizabeth Wolstenholme-Elmy. This council began setting up a series of lectures and a university-based examination for women who wished to become teachers and which would later develop into a University Extension Scheme. However, universities generally still refused to open their degree examinations to women. In 1871, Henry Sidgwick established the residence Newnham College for women who were attending lectures at Cambridge where Clough would become principal in 1879 when it was recognised as an academic college. Girton was established by Davis as the College for Women at Hitchin in 1869 and moved to Cambridge as the first residential higher education college for women four years later. After the campaign to establish these institutions, it remained necessary to continue the campaign to extend their levels of excellence to the general state of female education and to open up other avenues of achievement to them.
The foundation of the Mothers' Union is dated to the publication of the first membership card in 1876. The society was established by Mary Sumner, wife of the Rector of Old Alresford in the Diocese of Winchester, to defend the institution of marriage and promote Christian family life. This concern broadened over time to consider all factors affecting the morality of society, within the home and without.
Initially a network of meetings in parishes in the Diocese of Winchester, by the mid 1890s, the MU had established a centralised governing body in London, and had a number of branches overseas; from the early twentieth century, departments were established to deal with specialised tasks in the society's work. Although the society was primarily concerned with the role of the mother and the upbringing of children, married women without children and unmarried women were allowed to join as Associate Members from the outset. Throughout the twentieth century the MU addressed a variety of contemporary social issues (such as runaway children, drug dependence, venereal disease, housing conditions and birth control), but reserved particular efforts for campaigning against divorce and marriage breakdown.
Faced with a need to address a liberalisation in both society and the Church in the decades following the Second World War, the Mothers' Union revised its constitution in 1974 giving greater autonomy to the MU overseas and no longer excluding divorcées. Further reassessment took place in the early 1990s when the need to comply with charity regulations prompted a restructuring of the organisation.