Emily Smith (mayor)

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Emily Smith was

Mayor of Coventry between 1942 and 1943, during World War II and the latter part of the Coventry Blitz.[1][2] She served as a Poor Law Guardian, Labour Councillor, magistrate and alderman.[3]

Life and early career

Emily Smith was born Emily Parker in Dudley Hill and Tong, Bradford.[4] In 1915 she moved from Bradford to Coventry. After her husband's death four years later, she brought up their children by herself.[3]

Smith served as a Labour councillor in Coventry from 1928.[5]

In 1933 Smith argued against the requirement for women officers in Coventry City Council to resign upon marriage.[3] She became an alderman in 1937.[5]

Mayor of Coventry

On 9 November 1942 Smith was elected Mayor of Coventry, the second woman ever to hold the post.[4][6] She said that:

“for it to be possible for a working woman to become mayor of this ancient city [...] speaks highly for our democracy.”[3]

On 23 February 1943 Smith formally opened Canley Garden Cemetery and Crematorium.[7]

In 1943, following the

Stalingrad in one of the earliest recorded examples of city twinning.[2]

Reflecting on her mayoral year in 1943, Smith said that “All I wanted to be [was] a good mother to the citizens”[3]

References

  1. ^ "Historic Coventry - List of Mayors & Lord Mayors". www.historiccoventry.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "A tale of twin cities: how Coventry and Stalingrad invented the concept". The Guardian. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ a b Hird, Horace (1966). How a City Grows: Historical Notes on the City of Bradford. H. Hird.
  5. ^
    S2CID 144818372
    .
  6. OCLC 643617556.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  7. ^ Coventry Bereavement Services Canley - Crematorium & Gardens of Remembrance (PDF). Coventry City Council.
  8. ^ "Tablecloth Story | История скатерти". www.talkingbirds.co.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Volgograd: a long association". warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

External links