Sybil Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sybil Margaret Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda DBE

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...

(25 February 1857–11 March 1941), née Sybil Margaret Haig, was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

suffragette

Suffragette

"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...

, feminist

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

.

She was born in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, the daughter of George Augustus Haig, a merchant and landowner from Pen Ithon, Radnorshire

Radnorshire

Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...

, Wales

Wales

, and his wife, Anne Eliza Fell. Her father was of Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

descent and was a cousin of Douglas Haig

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...

.

On 27 June 1882 she married David Alfred Thomas

David Alfred Thomas

David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda PC , sometimes known as D. A. Thomas, was a Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician...

, a wealthy Welsh industrialist who later became Liberal

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...

Member of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

for Merthyr Boroughs. Their principal residence was Llanwern

Llanwern

Llanwern is an electoral ward and community in the urban-rural fringe of the City of Newport, South Wales. Llanwern ward is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Liswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city boundary to the east...

, Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (historic)

Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

.

In the 1890s Sybil Thomas became president of the Welsh Union of Women's Liberal Associations, which was strongly feminist and pro-female suffrage. She was also a prominent moderate in the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies

The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...

. Her sisters Janetta and Lotty were also prominent suffragettes and both went to prison for acts of violence in the name of the cause. Her daughter, Margaret Haig Thomas, became one of the most prominent British feminists of the inter-war years. Under their influence, Sybil joined the more militant Women's Social and Political Union

Women's Social and Political Union

The Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...

. In 1914 she was sentenced to one day's imprisonment after holding a public meeting outside the Houses of Parliament.

In 1916 her husband was ennobled as Baron Rhondda. During the First World War, Lady Rhondda served as chairman of the Women's Advisory Committee of the National War Savings Committee and turned part of Llanwern into a military hospital, as well as assisting her husband in his war work (as Food Controller from 1917 to 1918). In 1918 her husband became Viscount Rhondda

Viscount Rhondda

Viscount Rhondda, of Llanwern in the County of Monmouthshire, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for the Welsh businessman and Liberal politician David Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Rhondda, with special remainder to his daughter Margaret and her heirs male...

. He died shortly afterwards and Lady Rhondda devoted the rest of her life to feminist and philanthropic projects.

Lady Rhondda was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

(DBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours for her work with the National War Savings Committee.

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