![Margaret-bright-lucas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Margaret-bright-lucas.jpg)
The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling.
Founding of British Women's Temperance Association
The British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA) was founded following a meeting in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
in 1876 featuring American
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
activist "Mother"
Eliza Stewart.
Margaret Eleanor Parker
Margaret Eleanor Parker (1827–1896) was a British social activist, social reformer, and travel writer who was involved in the temperance movement. She was a founding member of the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA) in 1876, and ser ...
, a founding member, served as its first president. The next president was
Clara Lucas Balfour.
Margaret Bright Lucas
Margaret Bright Lucas (14 July 1818 – 4 February 1890) was a British temperance activist and suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although th ...
, who toured with Stewart during these meetings, succeeded as BWTA president in 1878. The BWTA achieved greater success under her successor,
Lady Henry Somerset
Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for w ...
, but ultimately British temperance was destined to achieve less than its American counterpart. Lady Henry was succeeded by
Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle
Rosalind Frances Howard, Countess of Carlisle (née Stanley; 20 February 1845 – 12 August 1921), known as ''The Radical Countess'', was a promoter of women's political rights and temperance movement activist.
Family
The Countess of Carlisle ...
, known as "The Radical Countess" for her opposition to alcohol consumption. Lucas was however, an important link in the Anglo-American women's reform networks as well as being a pioneer in British women's temperance.
Early years
In 1885, the association was affiliated to the
World Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WWCTU), of which body Lucas was the first president. The pledge of the BWTA was, "I promise by God's help to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, and to try to induce others to do the same."
The association's internal organisation consisted of:
* National Executive Committee: National President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer as well as representatives from County Unions
* County Unions - to support branches in their areas and establish new ones
* Branches (throughout Great Britain) and from 1879, an autonomous but affiliated BWTA
Scottish Christian Union.
The departments of the association were: Organization; Speakers' Bureau; "Y" (Young Women's) B. W. T. A. ; Temperance Legions; Evangelistic; Bible Lessons and Study : Unfermented Wine at the Sacrament; Preventive; Social Purity; Social; Drawing-Room Meetings; Facts: Educational; Health and Hygiene; Adult Schools; High Schools and Private Schools; Legal; Brewster Sessions; Police Matrons; Women as Poor Law Guardians; Members of School Boards, etc.; Work Among Women Municipal Voters; Political; Literature and Press; Inebriate Women; Native Races; Traveling.
In the year 1893-94, 1,500 meetings were held by members of the National Executive Committee, and 2,000 in all were reported to headquarters; 300 new societies were formed; 8,500,000 pages of literature were issued, including the organ, ''The Women's Signal'', which had a circulation of 16,271 per week. Temperance clubs worked to provide public drinking fountains, sometimes called a "
temperance fountain
A temperance fountain was a fountain that was set up, usually by a private benefactor, to encourage temperance, and to make abstinence from beer possible by the provision of clean, safe, and free water. Beer was the main alternative to water, an ...
" which were often placed opposite public houses to provide alternatives to alcohol. In response to a call by Lady Somerset in 1896, the White Ribbon Children's club funded the construction of a fountain with a bronze portrait of a "
Cold Water Girl" mounted on a granite base. The fountain is now placed in the Eastern Victoria Gardens near to Victoria Embankment in London. During the World Wars, the branches and county unions set up kitchens, mobile canteens, recreation and refreshment rooms for military personnel.
After a contentious annual meeting in 1893 during which Lady Somerset led the change in club policies to include the support for women's suffrage, the organization split. A new group was formed, the
Women's Total Abstinence Union
Women's Total Abstinence Union (WTAU) was a British women's organization active during the temperance movement in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters were at 4 Ludgate Hill, London. In addition to a president, there were 41 vice-presidents. The ge ...
(WTAU), which focused solely on temperance, electing former BWTA officers
Lucy Ann Brooks, Docwra, and Martha Holland as WTAU officers.
The BWTA was re-named the National British Women’s Temperance Association.
The Association supports a whiteribbon (publishing) company, an industrial farm home, a retreat for inebriate women, St. Mary's Training Home for Girls Alpha House, a preventive and rescue home. A
Scottish Christian Union independent but affiliated to the British Women's Temperance Association was organised in 1876 -9, and had grown to 80,000 members, 332 branches by 1908.
One of its members,
Eliza Wigham
Eliza Wigham (23 February 1820 – 3 November 1899), born Elizabeth Wigham, was a Scottish campaigner for women's suffrage, anti-slavery, peace and temperance in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was involved in several major campaigns to improve women's r ...
became a vice-president of BWTA.
In 1915,
Christina Marshall Colville
Christina Marshall Colville (, Christian Downie; April 10, 1852 – January 7, 1936) was a Scottish temperance leader. She served as president of the British Women’s Temperance Association (BWTA) (Scottish Christian Union).
Biography
Christia ...
was elected president of the BWTA Scottish Christian Union.
[ ]
Activities
![The Temperance Fountain, Malvern Link - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/The_Temperance_Fountain%2C_Malvern_Link_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3950.jpg)
The BWTA ran many successful and lively girls' groups, known as Y-branches (for youth). These were often associated with Methodist and other non-conformist churches, and organised all kinds of activities as well as weekly meetings. One of their most successful was a "Masque of Noble Women", which was performed by dozens of branches all over Britain from 1915. A box of costumes was bought and lent out to branches along with copies of the script. Probably modelled on the suffragette "Pageant of Great Women", it featured popular heroines including
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
,
Boadicea and
Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
After the BWTA became aroused to the fact of the alarming increase of inebriety among women, it studied the subject and, under the leadership of its president,
Lady Henry Somerset
Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for w ...
, started in 1895, the
Duxhurst Industrial Farm Colony
Duxhurst Industrial Farm Colony (1922, Lady Henry Somerset Homes; 1923, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein , Princess Marie Louise Village for Gentlefolk) was a British voluntary in-patient residential treatment center, residential i ...
, a voluntary in-patient
residential treatment center
A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch ...
for habitual
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
women. Situated about from
Reigate railway station
Reigate railway station serves the town of Reigate, Surrey, England, on the North Downs Line. It is measured from via . The station is managed by Southern.
History
The original Reigate stations were located two miles from the town centre i ...
, the "Village" contained home-like cottages, a church, the chaplain's lodge, farm buildings, a hospital, and a large dining and recreation hall.
[ ][ ][ ]
In the 1990s a Mobile Education Unit would set up exhibits at festivals or shopping centres to raise awareness about the organization and its goals.
BWTA women often wore white ribbons as a symbol of the
Temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
cause, and thus their organ was named the ''White Ribbon''.
A permanent office for the National British Women's Temperance Association (NBWTA) opened in 1923 at 104 Gower Street, London. In 1952 the organisation moved to 23 Dawson Place in London, and in 2006 the headquarters were moved to 341 Tanworth Lane, Solihull.
Transition to White Ribbon Association
In 2004, the organisation was re-named the White Ribbon Association. Today, the White Ribbon Association offers free services and resources focusing on health education and a variety of topics for children's displays. The White Ribbon Association welcomes visitors to the Archives where they have archived many products and records from the 19th and early 20th century.
Notable people
*
Clara Lucas Balfour
*
Florence Balgarnie
Florence Balgarnie (19 August 1856 – 25 March 1928) was a British suffragette, speaker, pacifist, feminist, and temperance activist. Characterised as a "staunch Liberal", and influenced by Lydia Becker, Balgarnie began her support of women's ...
*
Frances Julia Barnes
Frances Julia Barnes (April 14, 1846 – 1920) was an American temperance reformer. She served as General Secretary of the Young Woman's Branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Early life and education
Frances Julia Allis was bor ...
*
Emily Rose Bleby
Emily Rose Bleby (2 June 1849 – 3 May 1917) was a Jamaican-born social reformer active in the British temperance movement. She was affiliated with various organizations including the British Women's Temperance Association, Sons of Temperance, ...
*
Mary Shuttleworth Boden
Mary Shuttleworth Boden (25 March 1840 – 21 July 1922) was an activist in the British temperance movement. She was affiliated with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W. C. T. U.), British Women's Temperance Association (B. W. T. A.), Britis ...
*
Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle
Rosalind Frances Howard, Countess of Carlisle (née Stanley; 20 February 1845 – 12 August 1921), known as ''The Radical Countess'', was a promoter of women's political rights and temperance movement activist.
Family
The Countess of Carlisle ...
*
Mary Camilla Lawson
Mary Camilla Lawson (c.1865 –28 November 1939), born Mary Camilla Macan, later Lady Lawson, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician.
Background
She was born in Bedford as Mary Camilla Macan, fourth daughter of Turner Arthur ...
*
Margaret Bright Lucas
Margaret Bright Lucas (14 July 1818 – 4 February 1890) was a British temperance activist and suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although th ...
*
Margaret Eleanor Parker
Margaret Eleanor Parker (1827–1896) was a British social activist, social reformer, and travel writer who was involved in the temperance movement. She was a founding member of the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA) in 1876, and ser ...
*
Catherine Forrester Paton
Catherine Forrester Paton (1 June 1855 – 8 August 1914) was a British philanthropist, temperance campaigner and the founder of women's missionary training in Scotland.
Life
Paton was born in Alloa. Her parents were Alexander and Mary Forrester ...
*
Lady Henry Somerset
Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for w ...
*
Eliza Wigham
Eliza Wigham (23 February 1820 – 3 November 1899), born Elizabeth Wigham, was a Scottish campaigner for women's suffrage, anti-slavery, peace and temperance in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was involved in several major campaigns to improve women's r ...
*
Agnes Weston
Dame Agnes Elizabeth Weston, Order of the British Empire, GBE (26 March 1840 – 23 October 1918), also known as Aggie Weston, was an English philanthropist noted for her work with the Royal Navy. For over twenty years, she lived and worked among ...
References
Attribution
*
Bibliography
*
*
*''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
External links
{{Commons category, British Women's Temperance Association
White Ribbon Association
Alcohol in the United Kingdom
Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1876
Temperance organizations
1876 establishments in the United Kingdom
British Women's Temperance Association
Woman's Christian Temperance Union