Remembering some of Thurrock's great women
In her latest occasional feature Susan Yates, the chair of Thurrock Local History Society, puts the spotlight on some of the women of thurrock who have made an indelible mark in history.
THE past weekend marked International Women's Day which made me think of some of the amazing women who have lived in Thurrock.
One such is Tina Aparicio born in Trinidad on 31st January 1925 where she was a teacher before coming to England in 1958 to train as a nurse.
Arriving at Plymouth she was met by her friend, another well-loved Thurrock lady, Sybil Batson who came over to Britain as part of the Windrush generation. Sybil served as a midwife in Thurrock delivering generations of Thurrock babies.
Tina returned to Trinidad after her training but returned to work in the Royal Free Hospital London.
She worked in Thurrock for over 25 years and other hospitals across London and delivered more than 2,000 babies.
Last month, Tina celebrated her 100th birthday. Family, friends and former colleagues gathered at a village hall in Brentwood to join her in marking this milestone and reflect on a life and career that has had a profound impact on so many people and the healthcare system she worked in.
You can learn more about Tina via this link.
Perhaps a more well-known Thurrock lady is Fatima Whitbread, former world record holding javelin thrower. Born in Stoke Newington on 3rd March 1961. Her world record, was a throw of 77.44m, and came in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart.
Fatima became the first British athlete to set a world record in a throwing event and went on to win the European title that year. She took the gold medal in 1987 at the World Championships. She also won a silver Olympic medal in 1984 and bronze in 1988.
And while her athletics heroics remain in perpetuity, Fatima reached a whole new fanbase in 2011 when she took part in '"I'm a celebrity, get Me Out of Here" and came third.
Currently she has been widely recognised for her work supporting the care system and children who come through the fostering and adoption process.
Perhaps less well-known is Chadwell St Mary's Jane Packer born 22nd September 1959, a florist who revolutionised the industry in the UK.
Jane became a florist of some acclaim whose clientele included the Royal family providing flowers for the 1986 wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
She also provided flowers for Kate Moss, Vogue and Armani. When she opened her shop she could not afford PR so she made bouquets and took them to all the glossy magazines and left them in reception.
She also wrote several books on flowers and floristry. Sadly, she passed away in November 2011 aged 52 after suffering a stroke.
Alice Diehl was born 25th February 1844 in Aveley. Born Alice Georgina Mangold at the house of her maternal grandfather Charles Vidal the village doctor.
Alice was a pianist and novelist. She first performed in public in 1861 in Paris.
1863 saw her marry violinist Louis Diehl. She continued to preform until 1872.
It was after this she return to her first love, writing. From 1880 she wrote 50 novels many of which were mysteries. In 1908 she wrote her autobiography 'The True Story of My Life'. Alice died on 13th June 1912.
Another Thurrock lady who was not a sportswoman, but a fitness guru was Eileen Fowler, who lived at Horndon on the Hill.
Born Eileen Philippa Rose Fowler on 13 May 1906 in Tottenham she trained as an actress and dancer. She became famous for her fitness programmes on TV and radio in the sixties and seventies. Many a housewife of that time swung her legs holding on to the back of a chair in time with Eileen on her TV show.
With the catchphrase "Down with a bounce; with a bounce, come up" she introduced fun into exercise.
In World War II she worked for the Central Council of Physical Recreation to improve the fitness of workers as she toured around the country conducting group physical training sessions.
In February 1945 she married. After several years the CCPR again employed her and together with 200 women she provided a show at the 1959 FA Cup final. In 1975, she was awarded an MBE. She remained fit into her 90s and would insist on displaying her suppleness to other residents at her retirement home. She died, aged 93, on 7 March 2000 in Colchester.
I could not write about great Thurrock women without mentioning Aveley's Kate Evelyn Luard known to her family as Evie.
She was born on 29th June 1872 in Aveley vicarage the 10th of 13 children and daughter of Rev. Bixby Garnham Luard.
On leaving high school she worked as a teacher to raise funds to pay for her training as nurse at Kings College Hospital London. In 1900 Kate served for two years in South Africa in the 2nd Anglo Boer War. On returning home she resumed her career.
By 1911 at the age of 38 she was matron at the Maitland Sanatorium, Peppard, Henley on Thames. On 6th August 1914, just two days after the outbreak of World War I, at the age of 42, , she enlisted in the QAIMNRS, (Queen Alexander Imperial Military Nursing Reserve Service). Kate embarked on 12th August 1914 to France and Belgium where she served until 17th November 1919.
She served at or near the front lines for the duration of the war.
She was twice mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service in the field and awarded the rare distinction of the Royal Red Cross medal 1st class and bar like Florence Nightingale.
It was during Kate's time in or near the front lines that she exchanged many letters with her family at home and they formed the basis of the two books that she wrote: The Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front 1914 - to May 1915
and Unknown Warriors October 1915-1918 published in 1930 and republished in 2014.
In later life Kate lived with her sisters in Wickham Bishops where she is buried. She died on 16 August 1962
CHECK OUT OUR Jobs Section HERE!
thurrock vacancies updated hourly!
Click here to see more: thurrock jobs
Share:
