The subject of Alison utting’s talk at the September meeting of Burleydam W I was an amazing dedicated women from Ellesmere. Eglantyne Jebb was born and bred just down the road from us and although the name rang a bell, I had no idea of her life’s work, which was as the founder of the ‘Save the Children Fund’.
The Jebb family were wealthy, Arthur Jebb was a barrister and he and his wife, Eglantyne had 5 children. There were 2 older girls, then a gap, then Eglantyne, born in 1876, her brother, Calum, and Dorothy the youngest. These 3, who were taught by a governess, were very close and did everything together as children, playing on the Lyth estate which was their home outside Ellesmere and getting into scrapes.
They were a very socially active family; their mother founded the Home Arts and Industries Association to promote the Arts and Craft movement to young people in rural areas. Encouraged by her aunt Louisa, Eglantyne went to university at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford to read history, with a view to going into teaching. Which she did when she finished at university in 1901. But it did not suit her and when her mother was taken ill she moved to Cambridge to look after her.
During World War 1 she was politically active and when she saw some of the German and Austrian newspapers that her sister Dorothy imported and reproduced in Britain, she was shocked at the conditions that were prevailing in Europe. The people were starving and famine prevailed even after the armistice in 1918, because of the allied blockade.
Eglantyne and her sister, Dorothy were arrested for handing out leaflets in Trafalgar Square, which told of the appalling conditions in the defeated countries. So they decide to set up a charity to raise money to alleviate these dreadful conditions and had their inaugural fundraising event in the Albert Hall in London. They knew all the great and the good in British society and this raised a vast amount of money to start her charity which became the Save the Children Fund.
Eglantyne lived between England and Geneva, where she died and was buried in 1925, aged 52.
Alison was thanked by Jean.
In the business meeting, members were reminded about the Malbank Autumn meeting at the Malbank School rather than the Football Ground. The speaker is Alison Neil who will tell the story of Edith Nesbit, writer and poet born in 1856, and a member of the Fabian Society.
Arrangements were made for the W I Bridge Drive on October 24 th at 12noon, serving soup and a pudding for £15.
The next meeting will be on October 6th at 7.30pm in the Community Room when the Reverend John Jukes will speak on ‘My Life as a Ballet Dancer’.
Visitors and new members always welcome.
Visit the website www.burleydamwi.org
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