Bertha Bowness Fischer born Bertha Bowness Foulkes (21 February 1875 – 6 December 1920) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political agent.

Life

Fischer was born in

Karaikal Karaikal (Help:IPA/English, /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal Help:IPA/French, /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian States and territories of India, Union Territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by t ...

in 1875. Her family came originally from Germany but the she was a fourth generation person born in India. She was born in a part of India that was part of French India where her father, Thomas James Henry Bowness Fischer, was a British consular agent. Her mother was Henrietta Amelia who was born Stevenson. She was her parents second daughter born in Kariakal. Her father had briefly worked for the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

but all of their interests were transferred to Britain after the 1857 disruptions. In 1902 she was accepted by Society of Certified and Associated Liberal Agents as a political agent. She was the first woman of any party to qualified in this way. This hob carries a similar status to being a solicitor and the first woman solicitor was not until after 1919. In 1905 she became the second women constituency political agent when she was given that job in Fareham. She was supporting the Liberal candidate, George Evatt, in what was a Conservative seat. She left to marry Eton-educated surgeon Captain (Thomas) Howard Foulkes

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

in Portsea in July 1905 leaving her job as political agent and a

poor law guardian Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

Death and legacy

Fischer was murdered in 1920. She and her husband were attacked by

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribesmen in their bungalow on 15 November and her husband, who was now a Lieutenant Colonel, was killed. She survived the attack but died of her wounds on 6 December 1920. A plaque was created by their friends in India and it is now in the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bo ...

. The Liberal Democrats give an award in her name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Bertha Bowness 1875 births 1920 deaths People from Karaikal Female murder victims British people in French India British people in colonial India