Mary Salisbury
Encyclopedia
Mary Ethel Salisbury DL
CBE
JP
(1917 - 27 October 2008), was an English
Labour
politician in Wiltshire
.
, one of six children, in 1928 she won a scholarship to Bishop Auckland
County School for Girls. She later went on to train as a nurse.
During the Second World War she was a nurse at Battle Hospital in Reading, Berkshire
, where she met and married Bob Salisbury. They moved to Melksham
, Wiltshire
, in 1947 and joined the local Labour Party
soon after that.
In 1954, Salisbury was elected to the former Melksham Urban District Council, and later to Wiltshire County Council
. In 1960 she became a Justice of the Peace
for Wiltshire. In 1982 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to local government, and in January 1983 was Gazetted
a Deputy Lieutenant
for Wiltshire
, together with Lord Margadale
. She was also a member of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee
.
When the Conservatives lost control of Wiltshire County Council in 1985, leaving behind them a hung council, Salisbury commented to The Times
that there was virtually nothing which she opposed in Jack Ainslie
's plan for a new Liberal-SDP administration and almost nothing on which she agreed with the defeated Conservatives. "Where the Liberals put forward measures which seem to be beneficial to the people of Wiltshire, we will support them", she said. With the council remaining hung, she went on to become the first woman Chairman of Council, holding that office from 1989 until 1992. She was a member of the county council for thirty-eight years and was also a member of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority
, standing down from both in 2001.
She died at the age of ninety on 27 October 2008, and a service of thanksgiving for her life was held at St Michael and All Angels Church, Melksham, in December 2008.
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
CBE
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...
JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(1917 - 27 October 2008), was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
Life
Born in 1917 in a mining village in County DurhamCounty Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, one of six children, in 1928 she won a scholarship to Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
County School for Girls. She later went on to train as a nurse.
During the Second World War she was a nurse at Battle Hospital in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, where she met and married Bob Salisbury. They moved to Melksham
Melksham
Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, in 1947 and joined the local Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
soon after that.
In 1954, Salisbury was elected to the former Melksham Urban District Council, and later to Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
. In 1960 she became a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Wiltshire. In 1982 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to local government, and in January 1983 was Gazetted
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
for Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, together with Lord Margadale
John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale
Major John Granville Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale, TD, DL was a British Conservative Party politician.He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1938 and was Member of Parliament for Salisbury from 1942 until 1965....
. She was also a member of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee
Wiltshire Victoria County History
The Wiltshire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria...
.
When the Conservatives lost control of Wiltshire County Council in 1985, leaving behind them a hung council, Salisbury commented to 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...
that there was virtually nothing which she opposed in Jack Ainslie
Jack Ainslie
John Bernard Ainslie OBE , known as Jack Ainslie, was a Wiltshire farmer and Liberal politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990.-Early life:...
's plan for a new Liberal-SDP administration and almost nothing on which she agreed with the defeated Conservatives. "Where the Liberals put forward measures which seem to be beneficial to the people of Wiltshire, we will support them", she said. With the council remaining hung, she went on to become the first woman Chairman of Council, holding that office from 1989 until 1992. She was a member of the county council for thirty-eight years and was also a member of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority
Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It is administered by a joint authority of 13 members, 9 appointed by Wiltshire Council and 4 by Swindon Borough Council, called the Wiltshire and Swindon...
, standing down from both in 2001.
She died at the age of ninety on 27 October 2008, and a service of thanksgiving for her life was held at St Michael and All Angels Church, Melksham, in December 2008.
See also
- List of chairmen of Wiltshire County Council
- Wiltshire Council election, 1989
- Wiltshire Council election, 1997Wiltshire Council election, 1997Elections to Wiltshire County Council were held on 1 May 1997. The whole council was up for election and the result was no overall control, with the Conservatives as the largest party....