Fonds GB 106 7VJH - HOLME, Vera (Jack) (1881-1969)

4 A boxes; 3 Albums; 1 OS folder

The archive consists of two accessions. The first was donated by her niece Mrs Woodbridge on 21 Nov 1973; the second by her great-nephew John Holme on 29 Jun 2006. The papers were recovered after the death of Vera Holme from her house in Scotland.

GB 106 7VJH 1900-c.1962 fonds 4 A boxes; 3 Albums; 1 OS folder Holme , Vera Louise , 1881-1969 , actress and suffragette

Vera Louise Holme (1881-1969) was born in Lancashire in 1881, the daughter of Richard Holme, a timber merchant, and his wife Mary Louisa Crowe. Holme was sent away from home as a young girl to be educated at a convent school in Belgium. As a young woman she was based in London, and began performing with touring acting companies, often as a male impersonator. She adopted a masculine style of dress, short hair and took on the nickname Jack or Jacko. She became a member of the D'Olyly Carte Opera company around 1906, performing in productions of Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy Opera House. By 1908 she was a member of the Actresses' Franchise League. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1908 and was active in suffrage propaganda work such as greeting released prisoners from Holloway Prison in Mar 1909; working as a mounted marshal at a demonstration in Jun 1909 and acting the role of 'Hannah Snell' in Cicely Hamilton's 'Pageant of Great Women' in 1909. She was close to the centre of WSPU activity and social circles, staying with the Blathwayt family at Eagle's House in 1909, becoming the chauffeur for the Pankhursts and Pethick-Lawrences, and was a member of the 'Young Hot Bloods' group alongside Jessie Kenney and Elsie Howie. She was imprisoned in Holloway Prison in 1911 for stone-throwing. From 1914-1920 she was an acting member of the Pioneer Players. At the outbreak of the First World War, Holme joined the Women's Volunteer Reserve, and then enlisted in the transport unit of the Scottish Women's Hospital, based in Serbia and Russia, where she was responsible for horses and trucks. In Oct 1917 she delivered a report on the situation of the Serbian army on the Romanian Front to Lord Robert Cecil of the Foreign Office. She spent the remainder of the war giving lecture tours to publicise the work of the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit. In 1918 she became the administrator of the Haverfield Fund for Serbian Children - an orphanage set up by Evelina Haverfield, her companion from 1911 until her death in 1920. She continued to be involved in relief work for Serbia in various capacities throughout the 1920s -1930s, and remained interested in political issues in Yugoslavia throughout her life, returning to visit in 1934. She subsequently moved to Scotland where she lived with Margaret Greenless and Margaret Ker, friends from her suffrage days and also previously of the Scottish Women's Hospitals Unit. She became involved in the artistic scene centred around Kirkcudbright, led by Jessie M King. She was a lifelong friend of Edith Craig, participating in performances staged in the Barn Theatre, Kent. She was close to her brother Richard (known as Dick or Gordon) Holme throughout her life, and her niece and nephew were named Vera and Jack after her. She was also active in the Women's Rural Institute from the early 1920s until her death in Scotland in 1969.

The archive consists of two accessions. The first was donated by her niece Mrs Woodbridge on 21 Nov 1973; the second by her great-nephew John Holme on 29 Jun 2006. The papers were recovered after the death of Vera Holme from her house in Scotland.

Donated by the family: Mrs Woodbridge in 1973 and John Holme in 2006.

The archive consists of diaries, correspondence, photographs and memorabilia relating to Holme's activities as a suffragette; her work with the Women's Volunteer Reserve and the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit during the First World War; her visits to and relief work in Serbia / Yugoslavia; and her personal life and friendships. Many items across the collection relate to her girlfriend Evelina Haverfield.

Any original order to the papers has been lost. The papers have therefore been arranged broadly chronologically, based around key activities in Holme's life. The photographs have been placed together in one series, in largely chronological order.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

English and Serbian

The Women's Library Catalogue

The Women's Library holds significant related material on the women's suffrage movement. See archives held in Strand 2: Women's Suffrage Societies.

Specifically related to the Scottish Women's Hospital are the following: The Women's Library also holds the Papers of Elsie Bowerman (7ELB); the Records of the Scottish Women's Hospital (2SWH); a Scrapbook [relating to the Scottish Women's Hospital] (10/22). The Women's Library Museum Collection holds postcards and photographs related to the Scottish Women's Hospital and of several of the women who served. Similarly the Printed Collections holds additional material such as 'The Scottish Women's Hospital at the French Abbey of Royaumont' by Antonio de Navarro (1917); 'The Little grey partridge : First World War diary of Ishobel Ross who served with the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit in Serbia' introduced by Jess Dixon (1988) as well as biographies of individuals such as 'Dr Elsie Inglis' by Lady Frances Balfour (1918)

Letters and reports of Elsie Inglis as well as correspondence, financial records, subscriptions, personnel files and various committee minutes created by the Scottish Headquarters, as well as reports from overseas units are held in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Additional Materials of members of the units is held in various archives: memoirs of Katherine North née Hodges are in the Leeds Russian Archive; the journals of Mary Lee Milne are held by the National Library of Scotland; papers of Lilas Grant and Ethel Moir are in the Edinburgh Central Library; the Lothian Health archives hold the letters of Yvonne Fitzroy.

Finding aid created by export from CALM v7.2.14 Archives Hub EAD2002. Edited for AIM25 by Sarah Drewery.

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

07/03/2008 Organizations Associations Womens organizations International conflicts War World war Disadvantaged groups Gender minorities Social work Volunteers International voluntary services Health services Medical institutions Wars (events) World wars (events) Medical sciences World War One (1914-1918) Medical profession Medical personnel Internal politics Electoral systems Womens suffrage People People by occupation Personnel Hospitals Women Haverfield , Evelina , 1867-1920 , née Scarlett , suffragette and aid worker Holme , Vera Louise , 1881-1969 , actress and suffragette Inglis , Elsie Maud , 1864-1917 , physician and surgeon Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service Women's Social and Political Union Women's Volunteer Reserve Serbia Yugoslavia Eastern Europe Sex Sex distribution Social groups

Donated by the family: Mrs Woodbridge in 1973 and John Holme in 2006.

The archive consists of diaries, correspondence, photographs and memorabilia relating to Holme's activities as a suffragette; her work with the Women's Volunteer Reserve and the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit during the First World War; her visits to and relief work in Serbia / Yugoslavia; and her personal life and friendships. Many items across the collection relate to her girlfriend Evelina Haverfield.

Any original order to the papers has been lost. The papers have therefore been arranged broadly chronologically, based around key activities in Holme's life. The photographs have been placed together in one series, in largely chronological order.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

• English

• Latin

English and Serbian

The Women's Library holds significant related material on the women's suffrage movement. See archives held in Strand 2: Women's Suffrage Societies.

Specifically related to the Scottish Women's Hospital are the following: The Women's Library also holds the Papers of Elsie Bowerman (7ELB); the Records of the Scottish Women's Hospital (2SWH); a Scrapbook [relating to the Scottish Women's Hospital] (10/22). The Women's Library Museum Collection holds postcards and photographs related to the Scottish Women's Hospital and of several of the women who served. Similarly the Printed Collections holds additional material such as 'The Scottish Women's Hospital at the French Abbey of Royaumont' by Antonio de Navarro (1917); 'The Little grey partridge : First World War diary of Ishobel Ross who served with the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit in Serbia' introduced by Jess Dixon (1988) as well as biographies of individuals such as 'Dr Elsie Inglis' by Lady Frances Balfour (1918)

Letters and reports of Elsie Inglis as well as correspondence, financial records, subscriptions, personnel files and various committee minutes created by the Scottish Headquarters, as well as reports from overseas units are held in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Additional Materials of members of the units is held in various archives: memoirs of Katherine North née Hodges are in the Leeds Russian Archive; the journals of Mary Lee Milne are held by the National Library of Scotland; papers of Lilas Grant and Ethel Moir are in the Edinburgh Central Library; the Lothian Health archives hold the letters of Yvonne Fitzroy.

The Women's Library Catalogue

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English