Lucy Baldwin, Countess Baldwin of Bewdley
Encyclopedia
Lucy Baldwin, Countess Baldwin of Bewdley, GBE
, DGStJ (née Ridsdale; 1869 – 17 June 1945) was the wife of British
Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin
. They were married from 12 September 1892 until her death 53 years later.
The daughter of Edward Lucas Jenks Ridsdale and Esther Lucy Thacker of Rottingdean
, Sussex
, she was a keen sportswoman, dancer and partygoer.
She was invested as a Dame of Grace, Order of St. John of Jerusalem and a Dame Grand Cross, Order of the British Empire
. She was styled as Countess Baldwin of Bewdley on 8 June 1937.
Apart from her home-making, raising of six children and tireless support of her husband, she was also a formidable personality in her own right. She was the founder of the Anæsthetics Appeal Fund of the National Birthday Trust Fund, and associated with the Lucy Baldwin machine for self-administration of nitrous-oxide
/oxygen
analgesia in obstetrics
. She was involved in the Young Women's Christian Association
and other charitable bodies for women, especially those concerned to improve maternity care, after having herself suffered difficult pregnancies. She was also a member of the White Heather Club, the first women's cricket club, founded at Nun Appleton Hall near Appleton Roebuck, Yorkshire in 1887.
In 1928 she was vice-chairman of the newly established National Birthday Trust Fund to address the high incidence of maternal mortality. Its original aims were to support maternity hospitals and contribute to the development of midwifery practice. In 1929 she helped found the Anæsthetics Appeal Fund with speeches, broadcasts and fund-raising.
.
Her political lobbying was also key to the 1936 Midwives Act, which created a national midwifery service.
She also wrote valuable notes of two major episodes, the fall of the Lloyd George Coalition and the Abdication crisis.
grounds of Worcester Cathedral
.
GBE
GBE or Gbe may refer to:* Gbe languages, a group of languages in West Africa* Gigabit ethernet, a term for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second* Government business enterprise...
, DGStJ (née Ridsdale; 1869 – 17 June 1945) was the wife of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
. They were married from 12 September 1892 until her death 53 years later.
The daughter of Edward Lucas Jenks Ridsdale and Esther Lucy Thacker of Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, she was a keen sportswoman, dancer and partygoer.
She was invested as a Dame of Grace, Order of St. John of Jerusalem and a Dame Grand Cross, Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. She was styled as Countess Baldwin of Bewdley on 8 June 1937.
Apart from her home-making, raising of six children and tireless support of her husband, she was also a formidable personality in her own right. She was the founder of the Anæsthetics Appeal Fund of the National Birthday Trust Fund, and associated with the Lucy Baldwin machine for self-administration of nitrous-oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
/oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
analgesia in obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
. She was involved in the Young Women's Christian Association
Young Women's Christian Association
Young Women's Christian Association or YWCA or YWCA Building or Old YWCA Building or variations may refer to:*World YWCA, the organization formerly known as Young Women's Christian Associationor it may refer to:...
and other charitable bodies for women, especially those concerned to improve maternity care, after having herself suffered difficult pregnancies. She was also a member of the White Heather Club, the first women's cricket club, founded at Nun Appleton Hall near Appleton Roebuck, Yorkshire in 1887.
In 1928 she was vice-chairman of the newly established National Birthday Trust Fund to address the high incidence of maternal mortality. Its original aims were to support maternity hospitals and contribute to the development of midwifery practice. In 1929 she helped found the Anæsthetics Appeal Fund with speeches, broadcasts and fund-raising.
Legacies
One of her supporters and donors built the Lucy Baldwin Maternity Hospital in Stourport-on-SevernStourport-on-Severn
Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the south of Kidderminster and down stream on the River Severn from Bewdley...
.
Her political lobbying was also key to the 1936 Midwives Act, which created a national midwifery service.
She also wrote valuable notes of two major episodes, the fall of the Lloyd George Coalition and the Abdication crisis.
Children
The Baldwins had six surviving children (their first was stillborn):- Lady Diana Lucy Baldwin (born 8 April 1895)
- Lady Leonora Stanley Baldwin (10 July 1896 – 1989)
- Lady Pamela Margaret Baldwin (16 September 1897 – 14 August 1976)
- Major Oliver Ridsdale Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of BewdleyOliver Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of BewdleyOliver Ridsdale Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley , known as Viscount Corvedale from 1937 to 1947, was a British politician who had a quixotic career at political odds to his father, three-time Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.Baldwin was educated at Eton College, and grew up in the shadow of his...
(1 March 1899 – 10 August 1958) - Lady Esther Louisa Baldwin (born 16 March 1902)
- Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of BewdleyArthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of BewdleyArthur Windham Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley was a British insurance company director and World War II RAF officer. He was the son of Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl of Baldwin of Bewdley and Lucy Ridsdale....
(22 March 1904 – 5 July 1976)
Death
Following her death in 1945, she was interred on thegrounds of Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
.