CLEVER ESSEX - A METAL PROJECT FUNDED THROUGH A HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANTRESEARCH TO DATE

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Anne Knight, female, deceased.(b.1781 – d.1862)

Anne Knight was born in Chelmsford in the late eighteenth century above the family grocery shop. Her parents were Quakers and pacifists, who were heavily involved in the Anti-Slavery and temperance campaigns of the time and her grandfather, William Allen, had been a well-known radical and Nonconformist, so with a background like that it is no surprise in some ways that Anne went on to become such an active and tireless anti-slavery and women’s rights campaigner.What she managed to achieve in her lifetime, is truly remarkable. She was a feminist before the term had even been invented and a lifelong peace activist who passionately protested against the injustices she saw in the world.As a young woman, living in her hometown of Chelmsford, she set up a branch of the Women’s Anti-Slavery Society and organised petitions and public meetings to support the Quaker campaign to end slavery. She went on to tour the UK and France, giving many lectures on the immorality of slavery, campaigning for its immediate abolition without compensation to the slave owners. She was also an active member of the Chartist movement; the first British working-class mass movement for political and social reform, that grew out of the injustices inflicted on the poor during the industrial revolution. The Chartist’s campaigned for the rights for every man, rich or poor to vote. Anne challenged the Chartists,

Born in Chelmsford http://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/166;

http://spartacus-educational.com/Wknight.htm

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41946967?uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104412030443

insisting they support “true universal suffrage” and support women’s rights too. She further took up the cause for women’s rights after being banned from participating in the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840 because she was a woman. In 1847 she wrote the first ever pamphlet calling for votes for women:‘Never will the nations of the earth be well governed, until both sexes, as well as parties, are fully represented and have an influence, a voice, and a hand in the enactment and administration of the laws.’Anne helped found the Women’s Suffrage Society. In 1928 women were finally given the legal right to vote. Anne died long before seeing this dream realised but she did live to witness the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. To honour her contribution to the anti-slavery campaign the free slave village of Knightsville in Jamaica was named after her.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Margaret Cavendish (b.1623-1673)

Margaret Cavendish was born in Colchester in 1623 to a family of aristocrats. She was a scientist, a Duchess, a celebrity in her own time and one of the most prolific female writers of the seventeenth century. She wrote 21 books in total including: novels, non-fiction books, biographies, plays and essays. She published all of her works under her own name during a time when most female writers (and there weren’t that many!) published anonymously. Her work was often derided in the press and she had the nickname of ‘Mad Madge’, partly due to her eccentric nature, strange dress sense, flirtatious behaviour and potty mouth (she swore a lot) but mainly because of her

Born in Colchester in 1623

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/collectionsindepth/family/newcastle/biographies/biographyofmargaretcavendish,duchessofnewcastleupontyne(c1623-1673).aspx

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=magaret%20cavendish

incredible daring for being a published woman writer in an industry dominated by men.

Margaret wrote many books, including some highly regarded important works on philosophy and social commentary as well as a utopian romance called The Blazing World, which was one of the earliest science fiction novels ever written as well as being one of the first feminist novels.

Streets ahead of her time Margaret was a groundbreaking woman. She questioned her place in society and refused to fit the mold. She was also a passionate campaigner against animal testing.

Her personal life was equally extraordinary. After her wealthy Royalist family lost their home and fortune in the Civil War, Margaret became maid of honour to Queen Henrietta Maria, moving with her to Paris, where she met her husband to be, the Duke of Newcastle. She later became the Duchess of that city, and was thereafter known as Lady Newcastle. Despite moving in circles of high society Margaret refused to play by the rules and was always seen as a strange outsider.

She is still highly regarded today for her many literary achievements and is now considered to be as important a seventeenth century writer and natural philosopher as her male contemporaries. She is also credited as being the first British woman to publish in her own name. What a trailblazer!

http://herstoria.com/?p=549

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research John Ray, male, deceased Known as ‘the Father of English Natural History’ Born near the village of http://www.jri.org.uk/ray/cal/

(b. 29.11.1627 – d. 17.01.1705)

seventeenth century botanist John Ray gained a scholarship to Cambridge University at the age of just 16, which was a huge achievement for the son of a local blacksmith from a small rural Essex village. His mother was a very religious woman and a herbalist with great knowledge of medicinal plants, which she used to heal the sick. Her understanding of and interest in herbs and plants probably ignited John’s passion for natural history. During his time in Cambridge John was a committed and high achieving student who spent his spare time roaming the countryside, collecting plants to study. Ray also studied the natural sciences alongside training to become a Church of England minister. He went on to lecture at the university in a wide range of subjects including Greek, mathematics and humanities.In the 1650s he began taking expeditions around Britain with his friends in the summer holidays, collecting and cataloguing the plants and animals of Britain. In 1663 he embarked on a three-year expedition around Europe, gathering further samples, which he continued to study for the rest of his life.In 1667 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and went on to become an extremely important figure in the history of British botany and zoology. 'Most accurate in observation, the most philosophical in contemplation, and the most faithful in description of all the botanists of his own or perhaps any other time.' (Sir James Edward Smith (1759 - 1828), Founder of the Linnean Society)

In 1679 after his mother died, he moved back to Black

Black Notley, near Braintree, EssexBuried in Black Notley Churchyard

letters.htm#frs;http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/ray.html;

http://evolution.about.com/od/scientists/p/John-Ray.htm;

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/492392/John-Ray

Notely in Essex. Towards the end of his life, Ray worked as both a scientific and theological writer, having some success publishing his work. He died in 1705 and is buried at the local church in Black Notley. John Ray inspired generations of botanists after him to classify, document and collect organisms in order to properly study species.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Muriel Lester, female, deceased(b. 12.1885 – d. 11.02.1968)

"Of all my English friends,

Muriel Lester had a privileged childhood, growing up in a beautiful middle class home in Loughton, Essex. Despite her comfortable background Muriel turned down the chance to attend university and decided instead to devote her life to social justice, believing helping others was an important part of her Christian faith. She became a dedicated humanitarian, non-conformist and committed pacifist as well as being a great friend of Mahatma Ghandi.In 1908 Muriel and her sister Doris moved from Essex to Bow in London's East End where they became actively involved in providing social and educational activities for the poor community living there at the time. They used money left by their brother Kingsley (who died in 1914) to buy a disused chapel, which they turned into a ‘teetotal pub’ and community centre for local people. During the General Strike of 1926, Kingsley Hall became a shelter and soup kitchen for workers. Muriel was also a passionate campaigner for women’s rights as well as being a founding member of the Christian pacifist organisation, the Fellow of Reconciliation (FoR). In 1926 she travelled to India to meet Mahatma Ghandi and this meeting was the beginning of a long and deep friendship.

When Ghandi visited London in 1931 to attend a

Grew up in Loughton

There is a blue plaque to the Lester sisters on the cottage, no.49 Baldwins Hill, Loughton

Kingsley Hall the Lesters' foundation at Bow where Gandhi stayed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fellowship_of_Reconciliation;

http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/Library/Library-and-Archive-Collections/Protest-and-Campaigning/Lester-Muriel

http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/34-7_337.pdf;

you are by no means the least."Gandhi on Muriel

conference he stayed with Muriel at Kingsley Hall. In 1934 Muriel accompanied Gandhi on his tour of the earthquake-shaken regions of Bihar. In 1934 she began working as the Travelling Secretary for FoR and during the next few years she travelled across the globe, spreading the word of Christian non-violence to war torn areas. She gave passionate anti-war speeches in America, which caused her to be imprisoned in Trinidad in 1941. Like Ghandi she preferred to spend her time with the poor but she impressed many influential people of the time, including Clement Attlee, H.G.Wells and Elanor Roosevelt.As well as being a global peace messenger Muriel was also a widely published author, who wrote numerous articles and over twenty books, including two autobiographies, It Occurred to Me (1939) and It So Happened (1947). During a trip to Japan she was named the Mother of World Peace and in 1964 her great contribution to world peace was recognised when Muriel was awarded the freedom of the borough of Poplar. Muriel died on 11 February 1968 at her home, Kingsley Cottage, back in her childhood village of Loughton in Essex.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Lady Gwendoline Guiness, female, deceased(b.1881 – d. 1966)

Lady Gwendoline Guinness (nee Onslow) was the daughter of the fourth earl of Onslow, she grew up in London, in a family committed to public service. When she was just a child she became her father’s secretary when he was the governor-general of New Zealand. When she was 22 years old she moved to Southend, when she married the brewer Rupert Guinness from the Anglo-Irish Guinness brewing dynasty. They had five sons and

She was first female MP for Southend in 1927.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Guinness,_2nd_Earl_of_Iveagh;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness_family;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolen_Guinness,_Countess_of_Iveagh;

three daughters. Her husband was a conservative MP for the town and she helped him through nine election campaigns for the Guinness family seat at Southend, which stretched back to 1912. Her practical experience in politics (extremely rare for women of that time) and her social standing made Gwendoline the perfect choice for chairwoman of the Conservative Party's women's advisory committee, a role she held from 1925 to 1933. She also became chairwoman of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations in 1930.

When her husband Rupert Guinness stood down as Conservative MP for Southend after inheriting the Guinness empire, Gwendoline stepped in. Despite her tremendous wealth, The Countess of Iveagh, as Gwendoline was known, chose to spend the rest of her working life supporting the town of Southend. She stood for MP in 1927 and won the by-election on 19th November taking 55% of the votes. In 1931 she reached 85%; the following year she was granted the freedom of Southend.She was the 4th female MP to ever take a seat in the House of Commons and her election led the way for women in society to become increasingly more involved in politics. In 1928, women were finally given the vote on the same terms as men via The Equal Franchise Act in. Even though she had previously described herself as anti-feminist, when the right for women to vote was under attack from the Daily Mail and some right-wing tories she strongly defended the policy.Between 1929 and 1935 Lady Iveagh remained an inconspicuous back-bencher in Westminster, giving loyal support to party leader Stanley Baldwin. She was an

http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=33602&back=

extremely glamorous woman and MPs were said to crowd into the chamber for to see her fashionable outfits.

She served Southend as an MP for eight years until her retirement at the 1935 general election. Outside parliament and the Conservative Party, Lady Iveagh involved herself in the Overseas Training School, whose aim was to prepare young women who planned to settle in the colonies by teaching them cookery, preserving, dairying, and poultry-rearing to ‘smooth the rough places of colonial life’.Gwendoline also took part in philanthropic work, and during the First World War she organized relief efforts for prisoners of war, she was awarded a CBE in 1920 for this work.She was an influential figure who used her wealth and place in society to good use.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Edward Whymper, male, Edward Whymper was an English mountaineer, a talented Lived at 4 Cliff Town http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

deceased (b. 1840 – d.1911)

artist and an explorer, who is best known for being the first person to climb the Matterhorn (one of the highest mountains in the Italian Alps).His father was a wood engraver and Edward inherited his artistic skills. In 1860 he went to Switzerland to make sketches of the Alps and this is where he began his mountaineering career, exploring the landscape, climbing higher and higher to find the best view.From about 1900 when he was in England he lived at a boarding house at 4 Cliff Town Parade (which is now a B&B) although he was absent for long periods of time, travelling a great deal. In 1906 he married his housekeepers niece, Edith Lewin, who was forty-five years younger than him! They had a daughter Ethel, who lived in Leigh and also became a mountaineer like her father. Edward probably settled in Essex because his family ran the Anchor pub in Hullbridge for many years.Edward became obsessed with climbing the Matterhorn and with the physicist John Tyndall they raced to see who could reach the top first. He had eight unsuccessful attempts before finally becoming the first person to reach the summit on July 14th 1865. He must have been extremely brave and determined, making the ascent by the Swiss ridge, along a steep and dangerous passage that had previously been thought of as too difficult to climb.On the descent one member of his climbing party slipped, pulling down the other three tied to him, all four men died. Whymper had a lucky escape, the rope snapped and he was saved. This terrible accident is described in Whymper’s book Ascent of the Matterhorn 1871, which is filled with beautiful engravings of the landscape also by Whymper. In this book he writes:

Parade in Southend, there is a blue plaque on the building today recognising him.

Edward_Whymper;

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/edward-whymper-blue-plaque

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/643069/Edward-Whymper

http://www.leighsociety.com/pdf/16%20Leighway%20Winter%202005.pdf

‘Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.’

The accident had a profound effect on him and whilst he continued to climb other mountains he never returned to the Alps again.He became internationally famous after reaching the summit of the Matterhorn and he travelled around the world giving talks and lectures about his experiences.Whymper wrote several other books on mountaineering. He published Travels Amongst the Great Andes of Ecuador (1892), which contained valuable information for geographers, geologists, and mountaineers. He also wrote two handbooks on the climbing of Chamonix (1896) and Zermatt (1897). He was a brave explorer who took expeditions to Greenland, a place that had barely been visited before by Europeans, whilst there he made important advances in Arctic exploration. He also made first ascents on the Mont Blanc massif and in the Pennine Alps, South America, and the Canadian Rockies and climbed Chimborazo in Ecuador, the highest continuously active volcano.During his expedition to Ecuador he studied altitude sickness and the effect of reduced pressure on the human body, his findings were written into a book and The Royal Geographical Society awarded him the Patron's medal for his ground-breaking work on altitude sickness. He was a brave, adventurous, brilliant Essex man, as well as a skilled artist. His expeditions paved the way for many others and his pioneering work on altitude sickness has

saved thousands of future mountaineers from death.Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research William Gilbert, male, deceased(b. 1544 – d. 1603)

William Gilbert was an English doctor, physicist, writer and natural philosopher who was born in Colchester in the sixteenth century to a wealthy family. He went to Cambridge University at the age of just 14 and became a doctor. He became extremely famous in his lifetime and served Elizabeth I as her private physician in the last few years of her reign.He wrote many books but is best-known for his six volume work published in 1600 called De Magnete (full title: On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on the Great Magnet the Earth), which quickly became the most important work in Europe on electrical and magnetic phenomena. In this book he describes the experiments he conducted with magnets, where he realised that the earth was magnetic and that this was the reason compasses point north. He was the first to recognise that the centre of the Earth was formed of iron and that an important and related property of magnets was that they can be cut in half to form two new magnets, both with north and south poles. Also included in the book were descriptions of his experiments involving polarity, magnetostatics, the influence of temperature on magnetism and many more.The book was published during a time when Europeans were making long sea voyages and the magnetic compass was one of the few instruments available at the time to stop sailors getting hopelessly (and usually fatally) lost. Through his experiments and research Gilbert helped sailors understand more about magnets, saving hundreds and thousands of lives.His ideas were radical at a time when most people believed

Born in Colchester http://neuroportraits.eu/portrait/william-gilbert;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gilbert_william.shtml;

http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-physics/electric-charge-and-current-short-history;;

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www%2Dspof.gsfc.nasa.gov/earthmag/demagint.htm;

http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/gilbert.html;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Magnete;

that the earth was at the centre of the universe. Galileo looked at Gilberts experiments with magnets and eventually came up with the theory that the earth revolves around the sun.Gilbert is also known as the originator of the term "electricity" and he invented the first electrical measuring instrument, the electroscope, which looked like a pivoted needle.Gilbert set up a medical practice in London in the 1570s and became a member of the Royal College of Physicians and in 1600 he was elected president. He never married. He was a pioneer in the work of magnets and electricity and became extremely famous throughout the world in his own lifetime and had a great influence on future scientists.Gilbert died suddenly in 1603, probably of the plague.

Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research George Warwick Deeping, male, deceased(b. 28.05. 1877 – 20.04.1950)

George Deeping was a prolific English novelist and short story writer from Southend. He was born in Prospect House, which once stood opposite the Royal Hotel in Southend High Street and later moved to nearby Royal Terrace, overlooking the Thames Estuary. His father was a doctor and George followed in his footsteps, studying medicine at Cambridge University but after completing his training and working as a doctor for a year, he gave it up to become a full time writer.During world War I he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and saw active service in Gallipoli, Egypt and France. His first really successful novel was called Sorrell and Son (1925) about a father who devotes his life to making his son’s a success. The novel is based on Deeping's experiences during the First World War. The book was so

Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex

http://jmb.sagepub.com/content/16/2/103.extract

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Deeping

http://www.southendtimeline.com/warwickdeeping.htm

popular it was made into a silent movie in 1927, which was remade in 1934 as a sound film and then in 1984 Sorrell and Son was turned into a TV mini-series.His work was not always well received by literary critics, who disliked his melodramatic plots. He wrote a huge number of historical romances and despite wide spread criticism he became one of the best selling authors of the 1920s and 1930s, with seven of his novels making the best-seller list. A number of his novels, particularly the Dark House and Mr Gurney and Mr Slade are set in the fictional town of Southfleet, which was modelled on Southend. Deeping also published fiction in several US magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post and Adventure. He published over 200 original short stories and essays in various British fiction magazines, which were eventually put together into the multi-volume "Lost Story" collection.Three silent films were made, based on Deeping's novels: Unrest in 1920, Fox Farm in 1922, and Doomsday in 1928. Kitty (1929), directed by Victor Saville, was the first British talkie ever, which was all based on one of Deeping’s books.Deeping published over sixty books in his lifetime, an enormous achievement for this former doctor from Southend.

Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Grace Chappelow, female, deceased(b.1884, d?)

GRACE Chappelow was a suffragette from Hatfield Peverel, near Chelmsford. Her mother Emily Mary Elizabeth Chappelow was also active as a social reformer during the 1870s and 1880s. Grace later attended The London Collegiate School for Girls, where she was taught by Mrs

Born and died in Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, Essex

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/features/women_s_battle_for_the_vote_1_210466

Certificate presented to Grace by the suffragette’s for her part in the campaign

Carr Shaw, mother of George Bernard $haw. She also had private singing lessons at Mrs Shaw's home, where she became acquainted with George Bernard Shaw, whose wife was also a prominent SuffragetteIn 1911 she was among 200 women arrested in London during rioting. Her crime was breaking windows. Her motivation was the struggle to win the vote for women. She was sent to prison and, like many suffragettes, starved herself to continue her protest. Jailed campaigners were sometimes forcibly fed, often through a tube, but she avoided this during her time behind bars.

Some of Grace’s belongings are now part of the Suffragette collection at Chelmsford museum, including a brooch, a certificate commemorating her time in jail and signed by suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst; and a knife given to her by her brother during the spell in Holloway.

Grace became quite eccentric in later life. She was a vegetarian who lived with 13 cats, in a poor situation in her mother’s house in Essex. She was known for her determination and good sense of humour. She was admired in Hatfield Peverel for her suffragette career.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=a2EK9P7-ZMsC&pg=PA604&lpg=PA604&dq=grace+chappelow&source=bl&ots=aN5Yp3ylqn&sig=tB9kED-5ty0o52xVf3RvT5l1W6g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ex25U6C4DfTb7Abr5YH4Ag&ved=0CF8Q6AEwDw#v=onepage&q=grace%20chappelow&f=false

badge worn by Grace

Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Chester Moor Hall English jurist and mathematician who invented the

achromatic lens, which he utilized in building the first refracting telescope free from chromatic aberration (colour distortion).

born Dec. 9, 1703, Leigh, Essex

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1881AReg...19..194K;http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Chester_Moore_Hall;

Chester Moor Hall(b. 1703, —d. 1771)

Convinced from study of the human eye that achromatic lenses were feasible, Hall experimented with different kinds of glass until he found (1729) a combination of crown glass and flint glass that met his requirements. In 1733 he built several telescopes with apertures of 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) and focal lengths of 20 inches (50 cm).John Dollond of London received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1758 for the invention, but his right was contested by yet another inventor in 1766. It was Hall, however, who was established as the originator of the achromatic lens, although he was largely indifferent to priority claims.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/252621/Chester-Moor-Hall;http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/3648/achromatic-lens;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Moore_Hall;http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/college/museyeum/online_exhibitions/observatory/telescope/;

Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Sylvia Pankhurst (b.1882, d.1960)

Feminist icon, political activist and daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, the founder of the Women's Social & Political Union known as the Suffragettes, Sylvia is an important historical figure, famous for being imprisoned more times than any other Suffragette. Sylvia was an early force in the campaign for women’s right to vote. She was also a talented painter and graphic designer who trained at the Royal College of Art. Her early paintings and decorative art were of very high quality, and she created some memorable designs for the Suffragette movement. At the Royal College of Art she discovered that most of the scholarships were only offered to men, but her protests were ignored. She was commissioned to decorate Pankhurst Hall in Salford, erected by the Independent Labour Party and named after her father, only to find later to her disgust that women were not allowed into the building. It was this discovery of Sylvia's that spurred her mother Emmeline into founding the WSPU.

She lived in Woodford, Essex, from 1924 until 1956. Woodford became part of Greater London in 1965 but when Sylvia lived there it was part of Essex.

http://www.sylviapankhurst.com/

Red cottage in Woodford

Sylvia abandoned her artistic career, however, in favour of altruistic work, initially after discovering the appalling conditions suffered by women in the East End just before the first world war. 'Wherever there is a need,' she said, 'there is my country'.She was imprisoned again in 1920, for the publication of political articles in the Workers' Dreadnought – actually written for her by the American journalist Claude McKay. She published literature all her life; not only political however. She had a lifelong interest in the care of mothers and babies, and in 1930 she published Save the Mothers: A plea for measures to prevent the annual loss of about 3000 child-bearing mothers and 20,000 infant lives in England and Wales and a similar grievous wastage in other countries.She moved to Essex after meeting Italian revolutionary Silvio Corio. They fell in love, and went to live together in Red Cottage in Woodford from 1924 until Silvio died in 1954. Their son Richard was born in 1927. They never married, which was extremely unusual for the time.Together at Red Cottage the couple started theNew Times and Ethiopia News, which was printed in Walthamstow on the same presses used to produce the local Guardian newspaper. In 1933, they moved again to a much larger property near Woodford station called 'West Dene', 3 Charteris Road.During her time in Woodford, Sylvia was at her most active as a champion of human rights: writing and publishing, and defending Ethiopia from Italian fascist invasion. Red Cottage was pulled down in 1939 to make way for new houses. All that remains to mark where the cottage stood is a small Grade II-listed stone sculpture erected by Sylvia Pankhurst in 1935 dedicated to anti-aircraft bombing after

Mussolini’s air attack on Ethiopia in 1932 had been defended at the League of Nations as an acceptable form of warfare.For the rest of her life she remained constantly active, campaigning against political oppression and promoting worldwide human rights. She moved to Ethiopia in 1956 and spent her time improving conditions for mothers and babies, and campaigned to open a specialist women's hospital. On her death, she was given an Ethiopian state funeral, and was buried in a place reserved for Ethiopian heroes.

Images Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, male, deceased (b.1929 – d.2003)

Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams was born in Westcliff. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1951 with a first-class honours degree, before spending his year-long national service in the Royal Air Force flying Spitfires in Canada. At the age of 22, after winning a fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford in 1951 he was appointed Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge in 1967. In 1988 he left England to become Deutsch Professor of Philosophy at the University of California Berkeley.He was interested in opera from the age of 15, and served on the board of the English National Opera for 20 years. He received many honours in his lifetime, he was knighted in 1999 and he became a fellow of the British Academy and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as being awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by Harvard University in 2002. He also wrote a number of books including In Morality: An Introduction to Ethics (1972) where he stated: "most moral

born on 21 September 1929 at 19 Valkyrie Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex

At the time of his birth his parents lived in Elmsleigh Drive, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Obscenity_and_Film_Censorship;http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5595.Problems_of_the_Self;http://isbrt.ruc.edu.cn/pol04/news/p_news/abroad/200407/26.html;

philosophy at most times has been empty and boring ... contemporary moral philosophy has found an original way of being boring, which is by not discussing moral issues at all."

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Ken Campbell(b.1941, d.2008)

Kenneth was an English experimental writer, actor, director and comedian probably best known for his work in experimental theatre. He was once called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre” as well as “the strangest man in Britain.”He was highly skilled at producing complex shows with very little money. He became the director of the Liverpool Everyman theatre in 1980, junior director at the Royal Court London and also held a professorship at Rada in ventriloquism.Campbell became well known in the 1970s for the Ken Campell roadshow, in which well known actors Bob Hoskins and Sylvestor McCoy acted with him in his surreal shows, which included bizarre acts like stuffing ferrets down their trousers and banging nails up their noses!He also produced some astonishingly lengthy plays, including his nine-hour adaptation of the science-fiction trilogy Illuminatus! and his 22-hour staging of Neil Oram's play cycle The Warp, which was listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the longest play in the world.He appeared in many films and TV shows, including A Fish Called Wanda, Fawlty Towers and even Derek Jarman’s The Tempest.His interests were as bizarre as his personality, they including trepanning, teleportation and synchronicity. In the 1980s he discussed these in theatrical monolgues on

Was born on 10 December 1941Ilford, Essex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Campbell

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/sep/01/obituary.ken.campbell

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2663891/Ken-Campbell.html

stage. These surreal, experimental one-man shows won him a devoted following.The Independent called him: ‘a grand old man of the fringe, though without ever discarding his inner enfant terrible."

The Times said Campbell was ‘a one-man whirlwind of comic and surreal performance’ and The Guardian said he was "one of the most original and unclassifiable talents in the British theatre of the past half-century. A genius at producing shows on a shoestring and honing the improvisational capabilities of the actors who were brave enough to work with him."

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Joseph Lister(b. 1827, d. 1912)

Joseph was an Essex born surgeon who became known as “the father of antiseptic surgery.” He pioneered the use of antiseptics in surgery and introduced strict methods of cleanliness in surgical practise, insisting on sterile equipment. Lister used carbolic acid (now known as phenol) to sterilise surgical instruments and to clean wounds, which led to a huge reduction in post-operative infections and made surgery safer for patients.This seems obvious now but before Lister introduced these new methods patients often died after surgery from infections known back then as ‘ward fever.’Lister developed these methods after moving to Glasgow in 1860 where he became a Professor of Surgery. He read Louis Pasteur’s work on micro-organisms, which discussed how wine went bad after being exposed to microrganisms in the air, he realised these same microorganisms could be causing infection in his patients wounds after surgery.He knew that carbolic acid destroyed parasites on cattle and could also treat sewage so began experimenting,

Born on 5 April 1828 in Upton, Essex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lister,_1st_Baron_Lister

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/josephlister.aspx

http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/infectiousdiseases_timeline/timeline5.cfm?coSiteNavigation_allTopic=1

soaking dressings with carbolic acid (phenol) after surgery to cover the wounds and the rate of infection was vastly reduced. Lister then experimented with hand-washing, sterilising instruments and spraying carbolic in the theatre while operating to limit infection. In the years from 1864-66 the death rate for Lister's surgical patients was 45.7%. Between 1867-70, when he introduced his new antiseptic treatment, this fell to 15%. Listerian principles were adopted throughout many countries by a number of surgeons. His discoveries saved hundreds of thousands of lives.Although the antiseptics and disinfectants used have changed, aseptic surgery is still the basis of saving millions of lives.

NB Lister hospital in Stevenage – named in honour of him. Made a Baron.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Peggy Mount(b.1916, d. 2001)

Peggy was born in Leigh-on-Sea. Her disabled father died when she was ten years old, leaving her alone with her sister and mother. They lived in great poverty and Peggy started working at a the age of 14 as a secretary, although she dreamed of becoming an actress. When she was a child she took acting classes with the dramatic society of the Wesleyan Chapel in Leigh. Even when she was working as a secretary she still took acting lessons from a drama tutor, Phyllis Reader, in her spare time.

Peggy was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Mount

http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=20333

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/nov/14/guardianobituaries.filmnews

She started working in amateur theatre productions in Southend and was given the nickname of the Amateur Queen of Southend. She spent a lot of time hanging around the Palace Theatre. She got her first proper acting job with the Harry Hanson’s Players, who she met at the Palace Theatre when they were there for a season. She stayed with the company for three years before taking her first major role as Emma Hornett at Worthing. The play ran for three years in the west End at the Strand Theatre, making Peggy a star. From 1960 onwards she played classic parts on stage, including the nurse in Romeo and Juliet.Throughout the 1970s and 1980s she continued to work both on the stage and in television series, most notably the comedy series The Larkins, where she played the role Ada, for which she became known as ‘televisions favourite battleaxe’ with her ample figure, loud booming voice and hair tied up in a scarf but she was much much more than this, an actress of great talent and diversity, who overcame a difficult background to have a really successful and varied career.Despite her fame Peggy remained very loyal to her hometown and enjoyed sailing on the estuary with friends.

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/peggy_mount.htm

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Roland & Francis Prout The Prouts were well known boat builders on Canvey, the

business was started by Geoffery Prout in 1935 selling Born March 1920 and July 1921

http://www.canveyisland.org/page_id__1423_path__0p2p28p70p

dinghies and canoes. His sons Francis and Roland represented Britain in the 1952 Olympics, in the two-man canoe sprint kayaks, called K-2 Kayaks. These brothers experimented with canoes, tying them together making the first catamaran. They went on to design and build a prototype catamaran in their factory called , “Shearwater” which won many local races. Orders soon came in for others and soon Prouts became an internationally known boat builder of world class catamarans, with orders flooding in from ports all over the world, particularly to Japan, North America and Europe.

.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvey_Island

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research William Charles Kernot(b.1845, d.1901)

Born in Essex, William immigrated to Australia later in life and became a professor of engineering in Melbourne University and in 1866 he became the first qualified engineer to be produced by the university of Melbourne. He was appointed the chair of the university in 1883 and remained in this position until he died.

Was born on 16 June 1845 at Rochford, Essex, England

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kernot-william-charles-556

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research PoetRuth Pitter(b.1897, d.1992)

Ruth started writing poetry as a child, encouraged by her parents who were both primary schoolteachers. In 1920, she published her first book of poetry but couldn’t afford to live off her poetry so she worked in the day in a factory but she still managed to spend a few hours every evening writing poetry.In later years she became an extremely successful poet. She was the first woman to receive the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1955, and was appointed a CBE in 1979 to honour her many contributions to English literature.From 1946 to 1972 she was often a guest on BBC radio programs, and from 1956 to 1960 she appeared regularly on the BBC’s The Brains Trust, one of the first television talk shows, her thoughtful comments on a wide range of issues made her a real favourite among viewers. In 1974, she was named a "Companion of Literature", the highest honour given by the Royal Society of Literature.In her lifetime she published seventeen volumes of poetry. Her A Trophy of Arms (1936) won the Hawthornden Prize for Poetry in 1937, and in 1954 she was awarded the William E. Heinemann Award for The Ermine (1953). Most of her work was highly praised by critics. She received the Hawthornden Prize in 1937 for A Trophy of Arms, published the previous year. In 1954 she won the William E. Heinemann Award for her book The Ermine (Cresset Press, 1953).Pitter was highly regarded by other important poets and writers, including Philip Larkin, C. S. Lewis and W. B. Yeats.

Born in Ilford, Essex http://allpoetry.com/Ruth-Pitter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Pitter

Her poetry is still included in many important poetry anthologies being published today.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Frederick Hester At the end of the 19th century an entrepreneur had a

dream of turning Canvey into an Island holiday resort. Frederick Hester was born in Fulham in 1853, the son of George Hester. With the expansion of the LT&SR railway line from Fenchurch Street to Southend-on-Sea, Frederick took advantage of the close proximity of Benfleet Station to the adjacent reclaimed Island that was potentially an ideal holiday resort. A small book was commisioned by Frederick Hester and published in 1902 called 'A History of Canvey Island' by A.A.Daly. Promoting its Dutch history the book read more like a promotional guide to what glorious plans Frederick had for the Island than a history book. From 1897 Frederick started to buy land on Canvey including Island Farm where it is understood he lived for a while. An artesian well was sunk that supplied fresh water by the bucket that could be purchased for 2 pence a pail. Along with other land he owned, it was divided up into small plots to be sold to the London visitors

http://www.canveyisland.org.uk/04-history/06-hester/01.htm

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Gertrude Mouillot(b.1867, d.1961)

In the essay written for The Palace Theater’s 80th birthday celebrations, Gertrude Mouillot is described as ‘a theatrical enthusiast, who had acted on stage in former years. She gave the town a splendid Edwardian theater in 1942.’

When she was 24 years old she married the actor and

She gave the Edwardian Palace Theatre in Westcliff to the people of Southend and died in Colchester in 1961

http://teaup.me.uk/history/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palace-Theatre-1912-2012-Rachel-Lichtenstein/dp/0957407505

comedian Frederick Charles Arthur Mouillot, who became a successful hotel and theatre owner. She was a beautiful and intelligent woman, who was an actress and a playwright. In 1900 Gertrude starred in the Morell and Mouillot production of Belle of New York at Swansea. She played leading roles on that stage many more times, playing Desdemona, Ophelia and Audrey in The Country Wench. On 9th November 1909 she appeared in a radical night of theatre and politics at the Scala theatre, for the suffrage campaign for women’s rights, appearing alongside the most famous actress of the day, Ellen Terry.

Gertrude was also a playwright and her work appeared during the suffragette evening at the Scala. She was a radical, a forward thinker, an Edwardian female playwright, actress and theatre owner, who was considered to be an important enough playwright to have her work performed on this very special evening with the most sought after actress of the time playing on stage. Gertrude was obviously much more than just a rich man’s wealthy wife. She was a political animal, bright and engaged with the feminist politics of the time.

In 1911 her husband Fredreick died suddenly leaving her a fortune, she became the owner of over fifteen theatres as well as a theatrical management business.

She bought The Palace Theater in Westcliff in 1920. In 1942 she gave The Palace to the people of Southend. Southend Council committee minutes, for 3rd September 1942, discuss this generous gift: ‘Mrs Getrude Mouillot has addressed a letter to the Town Clerk expressing her desire

to make a gift of the theater to the Borough, with the freehold site on which it is erected, as an expression of her interest and goodwill to the town, the property to be held by the Council for any purpose which they may decide for the social benefit of the borough, but the property is not to be sold.’

Gertrude Mouillot died at the age of 94 in 1961 in a nursing home in Colchester. In The Southend Standard, 10th March 1965, there is an article entitled She Gave Southend a Theatre: The actress who gave Southend its Palace Theatre, music hall artiste Gertrude Mouillot…was a very charming woman and had quiet a good business head, particularly for those days.’

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research Edward Bawden Edward Bawden CBE RA (1903 – 1989) was an English

painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. During the Second World War, Edward Bawden served as official war artist, first with the British army in France, and then, following the army's evacuation from there, in the Middle East.[10] Already in France before World War II was declared, Bawden recorded defences being prepared at Halluin, then witnessed the bombing of Armentières and the evacuation from Dunkirk. Bawden's work can be seen in many major collections and is shown regularly at the Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden and The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford.[20][21][22] Notable surviving public works include a tile depicting a foot ferry on the River Lea, commissioned by London Underground and located on the Victoria line platform at Tottenham Hale station.

Born 10 March 1903Braintree, Essex, England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bawden

Bawden also produced the cameo-like silhouette of Queen Victoria located at Victoria underground station.

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research John Edgell Rickword, male, deceased(b. 1898 – d. ?)

He was born in Colchester, Essex. He served as an officer in the British Army in World War I, having joined the Artists' Rifles in 1916, being awarded a Military Cross.[1]

On 4 January 1919, Rickword developed an illness that was diagnosed as a "general vascular invasion which had resulted in general septicaemia". His left eye was so badly infected that they thought it necessary to remove it to prevent the infection from spreading to the other eye.He was a published war poet, and collected his early verse in Behind the Eyes (1921)He then took up literary work in London. He reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, which led to his celebrated review of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. J. C. Squire published him in the London Mercury, and Desmond MacCarthy as literary editor of the New Statesman gave him work.Later he became Editor of Our Time, the Communist review, from 1944 to 1947, working with Arnold Rattenbury[15] and David Holbrook. Rickword had an upbeat view at the time on the possibilities of popular culture and radical politics, and the circulation rose as he broadened the publication's scope from popular political poetry

Born 22 October 1898 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgell_Rickword

lmages Achievements Connection to Essex Further research BOUDICA or BOUDICCA (ad.60)

Boudica was a legendary leader, the queen of the British Iceni tribe, a Celtic tribe based in Norfolk, East Anglia. She was born into an aristocratic family, where she

She let the revolt against the occupying Roman army and destroyed the

http://www.dot-domesday.me.uk/boudicca.htm

learned how to fight. She was a great warrior who was described by the Roman writer Dio as tall, with long red hair down to her hips and a piercing glare. He also said she was very intelligent, with a harsh voice and a terrifying appearance. She liked to wear brightly coloured clothes and distinctive jewellery, including a large golden necklace and a gold brooch that fastened her cloak. She was married to the king of Iceni, Prasutagus, who died in the ad.60. The Romans had allowed the Iceni to rule themselves but after Prasutagues death they decided they took over in a brutal way, starting by confiscating Iceni property. Then they publicly stripped and whipped Boudica and raped her daughters. Hungry for revenge, the fearsome Iceni queen led the first British revolt against the Romans, joined by members of other British tribes.The first attack was on the Roman capital of Colchester. As Boudica's huge army of about 30,000 angry Britons marched towards Camulodunum (the Roman name for Colchester), the Romans sent messages begging for reinforcements but only 200 soldiers arrived. As the rebels entered the city the Romans fled to the temple, hoping they could keep the Britons out of the strongly reinforced building until more help arrived but Boudica and her rebels swarmed through the town, destroying everything and everyone in their path. They burnt the temple to the ground, killing everyone inside before setting fire to the city.Later her army marched on to London and St.Albans destroying both place and defeating the Roman armies there before eventually being defeated in a dreadful battle somewhere in the Midlands. Before the final battle Boudica and her daughters drove round in her chariot to all the amassed rebel warriors,

city of Colchester, the capital of Roman Britain, and defeated the army living there in ad.60

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/romans_and_queen_boudica.htm

https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/b/boudica.aspx

http://historysheroes.e2bn.org/hero/whowerethey/2

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Boudica/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LhT7rCC6O8

inspiring them to be brave. She told them she was descended from mighty men but she was fighting as an ordinary person for her lost freedom, her bruised body and outraged daughters. She said: 'Win the battle or perish: that is what I, a woman will do; you men can live on in slavery if that's what you want.'During the battle thousands of Britons were slaughtered and Boudica is thought to have poisoned herself to avoid capture.Despite Boudica’s eventual defeat the uprising so shook the Roman emperor Nero that he nearly ordered the Romans to withdraw from Briton. Instead the Romans stayed for another 350 years.Boudica has become legendary figure, a warrior queen who fought against occupying forces and oppression. Her story was forgotten in history for a time until the Victorians revived it. They called her Boadicea, and wrote books and poems about her and even named a ship after her. Prince Albert commissioned a large bronze statue of Boudica and her two daughters in a chariot, which still stands outside the Houses of Parliament today.A primary school has been named after Boudica in Colchester. She is well remembered throughout the city as the ancient fearsome warrior queen who defended Essex from the occupying Roman army - a never to be forgotten historical heroine who had her first victory in Essex.

A stained glass window in Colchester Town Hall depicts the ultimate Essex girl Boudicea

Work in progress...........we are still looking and updating this document with more amazing people who make up Clever Essex.

If you would like to nominate someone to appear on this list, please email chalkwell@metalculture.com