Adeline Marie Russell, Duchess of Bedford, (''née'' Somers-Cocks; 24 September 1852 – 12 April 1920) was a British advocate for
penal reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are i ...
. She led the European War Fund that cared for the wounded of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Life
Lady Adeline Marie Somers was born in 1852 to Virginia (Pattle) and
Charles Somers-Cocks, Viscount Eastnor. Her grandfather died just 12 days after her birth and her father succeeded as 3rd Earl Somers. Her mother was a sister of
Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...
, the British Victorian photographer.
Julia Stephen
Julia Prinsep Stephen ( Jackson; formerly Duckworth; 7 February 1846 – 5 May 1895) was an English Pre-Raphaelite model and philanthropist. She was the wife of the biographer Leslie Stephen and mother of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, mem ...
, Virginia Woolf's mother, was her first cousin (she was the daughter of Maria Theodosia "Mia" Jackson whose maiden name was Pattle). She was educated at home with the curriculum set by her mother.
[Adeline Russell]
, York University Library; retrieved 22 April 2016.
She became Adeline Russell after she married
George Sackville Russell on 24 October 1876. In 1882
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device.
Vir ...
was born and her mother gave her the first name of Adeline after Russell.
She became the Duchess of Bedford in 1891, when George became the 10th Duke of Bedford. She a philanthropist as this kind of work was available to women. She worked with the Associated Workers' League and worked on a scheme to support poor women and prostitutes around
Victoria Station in London. She employed the novelist
Fannie Gallaher as her secretary in the 1880s.
For 20 years, she was visiting
prisons
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
until in 1913 she came to notice after she was shocked by a report in the papers about the mistreatment of political prisoners in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. She confirmed the facts and went to
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
to find out more. Her reports gathered together the political parties and within a year the Portuguese had released their prisoners and Adeline was seen as the catalyst. Shortly after this war broke out.
[Adeline, Duchess of Bedford – A character study]
1 May 1920, The Spectator; retrieved 22 April 2016.
During the first World War she was Chair of the European War Fund. The fund had been created by the Ambulance Department of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the Red cross. She worked tirelessly for the wounded and she made numerous visits to the
Western Front to inspect conditions and to interview the wounded soldiers. She was disappointed to find that all the soldiers reported on their failure to take new ground. For this she was appointed
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(military division) in 1919.
[ She was appointed a ''Lady of Grace'' of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England (L.St.J.) on 13 August 1902.]
She was also noted for her role as an advocate for penal reform.[Adeline Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford profile]
oxforddnb.com; retrieved 22 April 2016. After the war she continued to work for those wounded in the war and she died of heart failure in 1920 after suffering from influenza.[ She left a £400 annuity for her personal private secretary, Fannie Gallaher.] Adeline Marie Russell had no children; she is buried in the churchyard at Chenies, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Adeline Marie Russell, Duchess of
1852 births
1920 deaths
19th-century English nobility
20th-century English nobility
19th-century English women
20th-century English women
Activists from London
British activists
British women activists
Daughters of British earls
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Ladies of Justice of the Order of St John
Duchesses of Bedford
British women in World War I