Gertrude Denman, Baroness Denman
GBE | |
---|---|
Viceregal consort of Australia | |
In office 31 July 1911 – 18 May 1914 | |
Monarch | George V |
Governor General | Lord Denman |
Preceded by | Countess of Dudley |
Succeeded by | Helen, Lady Munro Ferguson |
Personal details | |
Born | Gertrude Mary Pearson 7 November 1884 Sussex, United Kingdom |
Died | 2 June 1954 London, United Kingdom | (aged 69)
Spouse | Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman
(m. 1903; died 1954) |
Parent(s) | Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray (father) Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray (mother) |
Occupation | Female suffragette Vice-regal wife |
Gertrude Mary Denman, Baroness Denman
Early life
Nicknamed "Trudie", Gertrude Mary Pearson was the second child, and only daughter, of
Weetman was a staunch
The Pearsons had just moved to London when Trudie was born; her brother Harold was two years old. Two younger brothers, Clive and Geoffrey, were born in 1887 and 1891, respectively.[4] Due to the worldwide business interests of their father, the Pearson children saw little of their parents and spent their early years in the care of a nanny and a governess. In 1894, when Trudie was ten years old, her father was made a baronet and purchased Paddockhurst, a modern country house and estate in Sussex.[5]
Trudie continued her education in London, both at a day school in Queen's Gate, and later at home in Carlton House Terrace with a series of governesses, while her brothers were educated away from home at boarding school. At the age of sixteen, Trudie completed her formal education at a finishing school in Dresden.[6]
The poet, broadcaster and socialite Nadja Malacrida was her cousin.
Marriage
In 1902, Trudie met
Lord Denman courted the 18-year-old Trudie, who enjoyed his companionship; but when he proposed marriage she initially refused him. Under some pressure from her parents, the courtship continued, and in August 1903 the couple became engaged at
In 1905, Gertrude Denman gave birth to her first child, Thomas. Later that year Sir Weetman bought Trudie her own country estate,
Women's suffrage
In May 1908, Lady Denman was elected to the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation. The youthful and inexperienced Trudie was joining a committee with some formidable elder members. Her mother, Lady Pearson had been on the Executive for many years together with its President
The Women's Liberal Federation busied itself with the question of women's suffrage through 1908 and into early 1909.[11] The question of suffrage was put on hold for the Women's Liberal Federation when the People's Budget presented by Lloyd George in April 1909 presented a more pressing issue for the Liberals and subsequently precipitated the general election of January 1910.[citation needed]
With the election over, the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation were able to turn again to the suffrage question, and Trudie was active in supporting the Executive's refusal to support Liberal parliamentary candidates who refused to answer the Executive's test questions on suffrage.[12] At the Federation's 1910 Annual meeting, she was re-elected to the Executive with an increased vote and spoke in favour of a resolution to curtail the power of veto held by the House of Lords. [citation needed] By the end of 1910 it was clear that Lady Denman's life was about to change considerably; her husband Lord Denman, was to become the fifth Governor-General of Australia in succession to the Earl of Dudley.[13]
Australia
In 1911 Lord Denman was appointed Governor-General of Australia. The Denmans left London at the end of June and travelled to Marseille from where they set sail for Melbourne, arriving on 31 July. The Denman children arrived later, having been sent via the Cape to avoid the heat of the Red Sea.[14] The Denmans received a favourable welcome despite the tendency of the Australian press to poke fun at the English, and Lord Denman formed a cordial relationship with the Labour Government leader Andrew Fisher and his Attorney-General Billy Hughes.[citation needed]
As well as the large number of official engagements that Lady Denman was required to attend as the
Among her other interests was the Melbourne Repertory Theatre Club, founded by Gregan McMahon, which she supported by attending productions, entertaining the company at Government House, and aiding their efforts to raise funds.[16] Trudie also organised an exhibition of old furniture, silver and china held at Government House in April 1914. She collected over 500 exhibits, many from her own collections and those of her friend Nellie Melba. The exhibition was a great success with over 20,000 people attending over ten days, and the profits split between the Theatre club and the Arts and Crafts Society.[17]
On 11 March 1913 Lady Denman accompanied her husband and the rest of a Vice-Regal party to the Yass-Canberra district of New South Wales. The following day they were to perform the official opening ceremony of the new capital of Australia. The Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley, was determined that a start should be made on the new capital during the Labor government's term of office, and that a formal ceremony should be held, even though the participants would have to camp out in the bush.[18] For some time before the ceremony itself, the name chosen for the new capital had been the subject of some controversy. Many names had been put forward, but the one chosen by the Cabinet was kept secret, even from the Governor-General, until the moment of its announcement.[19]
Five hundred official guests and almost 5,000 people travelled in special trains to witness the spectacle.[19] Lord Denman laid the first foundation stone, the Prime Minister and O'Malley laid the second and third stones. The moment had arrived for the naming of the new capital. As well as the choice of name there had been much discussion in the Cabinet as to how the new name should be pronounced. It was decided that whatever pronunciation Lady Denman gave when she read out the name would be the one officially adopted. At noon, Mrs O'Malley presented to Lady Denman a gold case containing a card on which the chosen name was written. Amid a fanfare of trumpets and the bands playing 'All people that on earth do dwell', she made her way to a dais. The music ceased and Lady Denman said, "I name the capital of Australia Canberra." There were loud cheers, and while the artillery fired a twenty-one gun salute, the bands played "Advance Australia Fair" and "God Save the King".[20] The date is now celebrated in the national capital as "Canberra Day".
While Trudie and the children accepted life in Australia, and made the most of the opportunities it had to offer, Lord Denman found it uncomfortable and his health was not good. He was frequently in bed with colds and
World War I
As the Denmans returned to Britain in 1914,
While Lady Denman devoted a great deal of her time to the SSS, in private her youngest brother Geoffrey had been one of the first casualties of the war when he was shot trying to escape from his captors during the First Battle of the Marne, and her marriage to Lord Denman continued to bring little happiness to either of them.[25] She enquired into the possibility of divorce but abandoned it when John Quilter died in 1915 fighting in the First World War.[13]
Trudie was delighted by the unexpected return from Kenya of her friend Nellie Grant (mother of Elspeth Huxley).Together they began a scheme to make use of food scraps and save food imports by encouraging the keeping of poultry. This was a popular endeavour, with families, hospitals and other institutions taking part, and resulted in Trudie becoming President of the Women's Section of the Poultry Association.[26][27]
In the latter part of 1916, Lady Denman accepted the post of chairman of the Women's Institute Sub-Committee of the Agricultural Organisation Society. In 1917 the administration of the expanding Women's Institute movement was transferred to the Women's branch of the Board of Agriculture's Food Production Department, which had been set up to form a Women's Land Army.[28][29]
Affiliations
In 1917, she became the first President of the
Women's Land Army
During World War II she was Director of the Women's Land Army.
Damehoods
In 1933 Lady Denman was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).[30] She was advanced to Dame Grand Cross (GBE) in 1951; her mother, Viscountess Cowdray, had received the same honour in 1932.[31] These entitled her to be known as Dame Gertrude Denman; however, as the wife of a peer, her existing title Lady Denman subsumed this.[citation needed]
Death
Gertrude Denman died on 2 June 1954, aged 69. Her husband died 22 days later, on 24 June 1954, although they had led almost separate lives for many years.[13]
Legacy
See also
- Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia
Notes
- ^ Huxley, p. 12
- ^ Huxley, p. 13
- ^ Huxley, pg. 15
- ^ Huxley, p. 17
- ^ Huxley, p. 19
- ^ Huxley, p. 23
- ^ Huxley, p. 28
- ^ Huxley, p. 29
- ^ Huxley, p. 31
- ^ Huxley, p. 34
- ^ Huxley, p. 36
- ^ Huxley, p. 37
- ^ ISSN 0961-2025.
- ^ Huxley, p. 42
- ^ Huxley, p. 47
- ^ a b Huxley, p. 49
- ^ Huxley, p. 50
- ^ Huxley, p. 51
- ^ a b Huxley, p. 52
- ^ Huxley, p. 53
- ^ Huxley, p. 62
- ^ "War Charity Begins at Home". History Today. 49: 75–83. September 1999.
- ^ Huxley. p. 63
- ^ Huxley, p. 63
- ^ Huxley, p. 64
- ^ Huxley, p. 69
- ^ a b "Who was Lady Denman?". London: The National Federation of Women's Institutes. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ Hadow, p. 828
- ^ "Imperial War Museum". Assistant Director Lady Denman.
- ^ Gazette Issue #33946, 2 June 1933, p.10
- ^ London Gazette issue #39104, 29 December 1950, p. 10
- ^ Lady Denman complex celebrates 20 years South Coast Register 4 December 2008
- ^ Lady Denman Ferry Jervis Bay Maritime Museum
- Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate. ACT Government. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
References
- National Federation of Women's Institutes; article on Lady Denman
- Hadow, Grace (1918). "Women's Institutes". Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture. XXV. London: 827–33.
- Huxley, Gervas (1961). Lady Denman, G.B.E. London: Chatto & Windus. p. 205pp.
- Sackville-West, Vita(1944). The Women's Land Army. London: Michael Joseph.
- Twinch, Carol (1990). Women on the Land: Their story during two world wars. Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-7188-2814-3.
- Tyrer, Nicola (1996). They Fought in the Fields. The Women's Land Army: The Story of a Forgotten Victory. London: ISBN 1-85619-554-6.