Alice Marie Drakoules (; other married name Lewis; – 15 January 1933) was a British

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and campaigner for

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

Life

Drakoules was born near

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

to English parents, in about 1850. In 1876, she married William Lewis who was the managing director of the Union Assurance Company. In 1887, she founded a Band of Mercy in Weybridge. In 1891, the

Humanitarian League The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 189 ...

was founded by

Henry Stephens Salt Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt (; 20 September 1851 – 19 April 1939) was an English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions, and the treatment of animals. He was a noted ethical vegeta ...

with her support. The League's first meeting was held at her house and established her as the treasurer. She was not considered to have been a great talker or writer, but was recognized as an unfailing organiser. The

Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society The Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society (ADAVS) was an animal rights advocacy organisation, co-founded in England, in 1903, by the animal rights advocates Lizzy Lind af Hageby, a Swedish-British feminist, and the English peeress Nina Do ...

was formed in 1906 and its executive council included Drakoules. She was a keen supporter of the society, helping it campaign for licensed slaughterhouses, humane slaughter and for an end to performing animals. Her husband died in 1907, leaving her with an adopted son. Her second husband, Platon Eustathios Drakoules (or Drakoulis), was a Greek socialist, ex-member of the

Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

. They shared a common interest in humanitarianism.

Kean, Hilda Hilda Kean (born August 1949) is a British historian who specialises in public and cultural history, and in particular the cultural history of animals. She is former Dean and Director of Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, and an Honora ...

. (2004-09-23). "Drakoules ée Lambe; other married name Lewis Alice Marie (c. 1850–1933), humanitarian and campaigner for animal welfare".

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. Retrieved 30 Dec. 2017, se
link
/ref> The Humanitarian League ended in 1919, but out of its end was formed, with her support, what was to become the

League Against Cruel Sports The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...

. Drakoules died in the area known as

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, in 1933.

Legacy

Four years after Drakoules' death, her friends arranged for a monument to be constructed in St John's Wood churchyard, which includes a wide range of sculpted animals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drakoules, Alice 1850s births 1933 deaths Activists from Brussels Anti-vivisectionists British animal welfare workers British humanitarians British vegetarianism activists British women activists

Life

Legacy

See also

References