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Annie Catherine "Kitty" Higdon (''née'' Schollick; 30 December 1864 – 24 April 1946) was a British schoolmistress. She and her husband, Tom, were at the centre of the 25-year long Burston School Strike. Their battle with authority is celebrated annually by a rally that attracts nationally known politicians and trade unionists.
Archives of Norfolk. Retrieved 28 April 2017 Arriving at Burston, the Higdons were again popular with all but the authorities. The Reverend Charles Tucker Eland chaired the School's Managing Body. Eland demanded deference and recognition of his right to lead the community. Their employers, themselves mostly tenants of brewery-owned land, allied with the rector.
In 1913, Tom Higdon stood for election to the parish council, topping the poll with Eland failing to be elected. The rector still had control of the school's managing body. The Higdons had complained about children being taken from school for farm work. They also noted the dampness, inadequate heating and lighting, lack of ventilation and generally unhygienic conditions in the school. The managers accused Annie of lighting a fire without their permission. She was also accused of not curtsying to the rector's wife. Annie was also accused of beating two girls. It is now thought that all these accusations were invented or exaggerated.
In 1914 the Higdons were dismissed but the pupils organised a strike. One of the pupils, Violet Potter, led the students out on strike. The vast majority agreed to be taught in temporary places. Initially they worked on the village green and then in a carpenter's shop. The situation attracted national publicity and crowd funding from supporters resulted in a new school building by 1917. Early visitors to the school were
Annie's life has featured in films and books. There is an annual rally each year which attracts leading Labour politicians including
Life
Higdon was born in Poulton-cum-Seacombe, which is now part of Wallasey, in Cheshire. She was born to Samuel and Jane Schollick in 1864. Her father was a shipwright, but she became a qualified elementary teacher. She married Tom Higdon in 1896 and they initially lived in London. Annie (Kitty) was appointed headmistress in theNorfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
village of Wood Dalling
Wood Dalling is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is located south of Holt and north of Reepham, the nearest market towns.
The villages name means 'Dalla's people'. 'Wood' distinguish from Field Dalling.
The civil parish h ...
with Tom as assistant teacher. There they were popular but they came into conflict with the authorities. Norfolk Education Committee gave the Higdons little choice but to transfer to another school. They moved to the Burston School in 1911. Annie's final comments in the school records were later removed by the education authority as "political and inflammatory".The Burston School StrikeArchives of Norfolk. Retrieved 28 April 2017 Arriving at Burston, the Higdons were again popular with all but the authorities. The Reverend Charles Tucker Eland chaired the School's Managing Body. Eland demanded deference and recognition of his right to lead the community. Their employers, themselves mostly tenants of brewery-owned land, allied with the rector.
In 1913, Tom Higdon stood for election to the parish council, topping the poll with Eland failing to be elected. The rector still had control of the school's managing body. The Higdons had complained about children being taken from school for farm work. They also noted the dampness, inadequate heating and lighting, lack of ventilation and generally unhygienic conditions in the school. The managers accused Annie of lighting a fire without their permission. She was also accused of not curtsying to the rector's wife. Annie was also accused of beating two girls. It is now thought that all these accusations were invented or exaggerated.
In 1914 the Higdons were dismissed but the pupils organised a strike. One of the pupils, Violet Potter, led the students out on strike. The vast majority agreed to be taught in temporary places. Initially they worked on the village green and then in a carpenter's shop. The situation attracted national publicity and crowd funding from supporters resulted in a new school building by 1917. Early visitors to the school were Sylvia Pankhurst
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with t ...
and George Lansbury
George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spe ...
, who opened the new building.
The school remained open with eleven pupils until Tom's death in 1939. Annie (Kitty) Higdon died in a retirement home at Swainsthorpe on 24 April 1946. She is buried alongside her husband.
Legacy
Annie's life has featured in films and books. There is an annual rally each year which attracts leading Labour politicians including Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...
, Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (''née'' Parry; born 7 July 1944), is a British politician and former teacher who served as Minister of State for Europe from June to October 2009 and Minister of State for Africa and the ...
and Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higdon, Annie 1864 births 1946 deaths People from Wallasey Schoolteachers from Cheshire Labour disputes in England 20th-century English educators People from South Norfolk (district) People from Broadland (district) 20th-century English women educators