Mary Ada Pickford
Encyclopedia
The Hon. Mary Ada Pickford CBE
(5 July 1884 – 6 March 1934) was a British
politician, industrialist and historian. After working to support the Conservative Party
over several years, she was elected as a Member of Parliament
in 1931, and specialised in Indian issues; she also used her knowledge of the factory system gained while working as an inspector during the First World War to speak about employment issues. Pickford supported her constituency through the depression of the 1930s but died suddenly of pneumonia
at the age of 49.
who was then a leading barrister on the Northern circuit. William Pickford went on to rise through the profession of law, becoming a Queen's Counsel
in 1893, a Recorder
from 1901 and a Judge of the High Court of Justice in 1907. In 1914 he became a Lord Justice of Appeal and President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division from 1918. William Pickford received a peerage
as Baron Sterndale in November 1918 (from which Mary Pickford received the title 'the Honourable') and he served as Master of the Rolls
from 1919 until his death in 1923. Her mother Alice (née Brooke), died only two months after her birth.
, under Miss Frances Dove
. In the summer of 1904 at the age of 19 she was presented at Court as a débutante
, and she also escorted her father at social events for the judiciary. She went up to Lady Margaret Hall
at the University of Oxford
, but her education was interrupted by war service. She worked as an unpaid inspector for the factory department of the Home Office
, and from 1917 to 1921 she worked as an assistant on the compilation of the Official History of the War, as a member of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. In 1921 she graduated, both BA
and MA
, from Oxford.
she was adopted as Conservative Party
candidate in Farnworth
. The Times
regarded her as a candidate "of outstanding personality". She ran a vigorous campaign against a Labour majority of under 3,000, but Labour succeeded in winning the seat with an increased majority of 11,214. Shortly after the election it was announced that Pickford had been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in the King's birthday honours list "for public services".
In July 1929 Pickford was named to a Conservative Party committee which was considering the replies from the constituencies to a questionnaire asking the reasons for the party's defeat. She spoke on "Social Legislation" in a Conservative Party lecture at the Ladies' Carlton Club in the spring of 1930, and followed that the next year by talking about the Alternative Vote
and Proportional Representation
. She was appointed by the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations to represent them on the Board of Governors of Bonar Law Memorial College.
, Pickford was adopted as Conservative candidate for Hammersmith North
, where Labour had a majority of 3,857 at the previous election in 1929. She supported Stanley Baldwin
's policy of tariffs
, and declared that the Government would have been able to avoid any cuts in unemployment benefit had they cut down on abuses 18 months before. In the circumstances of the election, she received support from local members of the Liberal Party
with speakers and canvassers, and Conservatives from Kensington South
(which was unopposed) came over to help. She won election with a majority of 6,977 over the incumbent Labour MP; candidates from the Communist Party and the New Party lost their deposits.Pickford made her maiden speech
on 23 November, referring to her experience as a factory inspector in arguing that employing women and young persons for long hours resulted in lower output, and that a day of eight or nine hours produced more than one of twelve hours. She called for the National Government to bring up to date the factory and workshop legislation.
(among others) that it would be unmanageably large; she stated that they would not all hold elections at the same time, and the federal council would have a much smaller electorate of 8,400,000.
After the conclusion of the Franchise Committee and the Round Table, Pickford spoke in a House of Commons debate saying that legitimate Indian aspirations should be satisfied and that the Indian National Congress
would resume its civil disobedience if they were not. In April 1933 Pickford was one of 16 MPs named to a Joint Select Committee of the House of Commons
and House of Lords
on the future constitution of India.
, which trained women teachers. She called on the Government to introduce legislation to restrict the working hours of young people, saying that the situation where a boy or girl of 14 could work for 74 hours a week should not be allowed to continue; however she also led a delegation of 21 women's organisations to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office in June 1933, calling for women working in supervision and management to be exempted from a general ban on the night employment of women.
In December 1932 Pickford spoke in a Liberal Party debate on housing in London, commenting that in her constituency some working class people paid more than half their income in rent. She called for a national programme to supply housing to be let at low rents. She was a member of a Save the Children
Fund inquiry into the effects of unemployment on children.
at the family home in King Sterndale
, Derbyshire. Tributes were paid by senior politicians, with the Chairman of the Joint Select Committee Lord Lothian
referring to her as "one .. whose charm and good comradeship will indeed be sadly missed by each one of her colleagues". Sir Samuel Hoare remarked on her "mind ready for action, a sympathy and a sanity that never failed, and a vigorous and human personality that always impressed itself on friends and colleagues."
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...
(5 July 1884 – 6 March 1934) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
politician, industrialist and historian. After working to support the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
over several years, she was elected as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in 1931, and specialised in Indian issues; she also used her knowledge of the factory system gained while working as an inspector during the First World War to speak about employment issues. Pickford supported her constituency through the depression of the 1930s but died suddenly of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the age of 49.
Family
Pickford was the daughter of William PickfordWilliam Pickford, 1st Baron Sterndale
William Pickford, 1st Baron Sterndale PC was a British lawyer and judge. He served as a Lord Justice of Appeal between 1914 and 1918, as President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division between 1918 and 1919 and as Master of the Rolls between 1919 and 1923.-Legal and judicial...
who was then a leading barrister on the Northern circuit. William Pickford went on to rise through the profession of law, becoming a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1893, a Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
from 1901 and a Judge of the High Court of Justice in 1907. In 1914 he became a Lord Justice of Appeal and President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division from 1918. William Pickford received a peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Sterndale in November 1918 (from which Mary Pickford received the title 'the Honourable') and he served as Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
from 1919 until his death in 1923. Her mother Alice (née Brooke), died only two months after her birth.
Education and war service
Mary Pickford attended Wycombe Abbey SchoolWycombe Abbey
Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is academically one of the top schools in the United Kingdom, and the top girls' boarding school...
, under Miss Frances Dove
Frances Dove
Dame Jane Frances Dove, DBE, JP was an English women's campaigner who founded Wycombe Abbey and other girls' schools....
. In the summer of 1904 at the age of 19 she was presented at Court as a débutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
, and she also escorted her father at social events for the judiciary. She went up to Lady Margaret Hall
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £34m....
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, but her education was interrupted by war service. She worked as an unpaid inspector for the factory department of the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, and from 1917 to 1921 she worked as an assistant on the compilation of the Official History of the War, as a member of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. In 1921 she graduated, both BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and MA
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
, from Oxford.
Career
Early in 1926, Pickford was appointed as a member of the Committee on Education and Industry set up by the Government. She was an advisor to the British Government delegation at the tenth session of the International Labour Conference at Geneva in 1927, and at the 1929 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
she was adopted as Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate in Farnworth
Farnworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Farnworth was a county constituency in Lancashire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.- Boundaries :...
. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
regarded her as a candidate "of outstanding personality". She ran a vigorous campaign against a Labour majority of under 3,000, but Labour succeeded in winning the seat with an increased majority of 11,214. Shortly after the election it was announced that Pickford had been appointed a Commander of the 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...
in the King's birthday honours list "for public services".
In July 1929 Pickford was named to a Conservative Party committee which was considering the replies from the constituencies to a questionnaire asking the reasons for the party's defeat. She spoke on "Social Legislation" in a Conservative Party lecture at the Ladies' Carlton Club in the spring of 1930, and followed that the next year by talking about the Alternative Vote
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
and Proportional Representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. She was appointed by the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations to represent them on the Board of Governors of Bonar Law Memorial College.
Parliament
At the 1931 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
, Pickford was adopted as Conservative candidate for Hammersmith North
Hammersmith North (UK Parliament constituency)
Hammersmith North was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith in West London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
, where Labour had a majority of 3,857 at the previous election in 1929. She supported 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...
's policy of tariffs
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
, and declared that the Government would have been able to avoid any cuts in unemployment benefit had they cut down on abuses 18 months before. In the circumstances of the election, she received support from local members of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
with speakers and canvassers, and Conservatives from Kensington South
Kensington South (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington South was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Kensington district of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
(which was unopposed) came over to help. She won election with a majority of 6,977 over the incumbent Labour MP; candidates from the Communist Party and the New Party lost their deposits.Pickford made her maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 23 November, referring to her experience as a factory inspector in arguing that employing women and young persons for long hours resulted in lower output, and that a day of eight or nine hours produced more than one of twelve hours. She called for the National Government to bring up to date the factory and workshop legislation.
India
Early in 1932, she was named as a member of the Franchise Committee which was to assist the Round Table Conference on India by making recommendations on the conditions in which Indians could obtain the right to vote. In connection with her duties, she travelled to India in the spring of 1932, returning at the end of May to a dinner in her honour by the women MPs. Pickford defended the finding of her Committee which would increase the electorate for the provincial councils to 36,000,000 against accusations from Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(among others) that it would be unmanageably large; she stated that they would not all hold elections at the same time, and the federal council would have a much smaller electorate of 8,400,000.
After the conclusion of the Franchise Committee and the Round Table, Pickford spoke in a House of Commons debate saying that legitimate Indian aspirations should be satisfied and that the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
would resume its civil disobedience if they were not. In April 1933 Pickford was one of 16 MPs named to a Joint Select Committee of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on the future constitution of India.
Social issues
Pickford also became Chairman of Whitelands Training CollegeWhitelands College
Whitelands College is one of the four constituent colleges of Roehampton University. One of the oldest higher education institutions in England, predating every university except Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham, it was founded by the Church of England’s National Society in 1841 as a teacher...
, which trained women teachers. She called on the Government to introduce legislation to restrict the working hours of young people, saying that the situation where a boy or girl of 14 could work for 74 hours a week should not be allowed to continue; however she also led a delegation of 21 women's organisations to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office in June 1933, calling for women working in supervision and management to be exempted from a general ban on the night employment of women.
In December 1932 Pickford spoke in a Liberal Party debate on housing in London, commenting that in her constituency some working class people paid more than half their income in rent. She called for a national programme to supply housing to be let at low rents. She was a member of a Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
Fund inquiry into the effects of unemployment on children.
Death
Pickford was taken suddenly ill in March 1934, and three days later died of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the family home in King Sterndale
King Sterndale
King Sterndale is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is located in the Peak District, 4 miles east of Buxton. It has a population of about 30. The two hamlets of Cowdale and Stadon also lie within the parish.-Brief history:...
, Derbyshire. Tributes were paid by senior politicians, with the Chairman of the Joint Select Committee Lord Lothian
Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian
Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian KT CH PC was a British politician and diplomat.Philip Kerr was the son of Lord Ralph Drury Kerr, the third son of John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian...
referring to her as "one .. whose charm and good comradeship will indeed be sadly missed by each one of her colleagues". Sir Samuel Hoare remarked on her "mind ready for action, a sympathy and a sanity that never failed, and a vigorous and human personality that always impressed itself on friends and colleagues."