Charlotte Price White (1873 - 1932) was a leading member of the North Wales Suffragist movement, local councillor and among the first British members of the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

Education and personal life

Charlotte Bell was born in Briggart near Dumfries in Scotland in 1873. In the 1890s she was among the first women to train as science teachers at University College of North Wales, Bangor. Her first teaching post was in London. On 12 August 1902 she married Price Foulkes White. They lived in Bangor where she remained for the rest of her life. They had two children, Margaret and David Archibald. She died suddenly in 1932, and her funeral was a public event. Flags were flown at half-mast and there were over 100 floral tributes at the service in the English Presbyterian Chapel.

Activism

White was Secretary and leader of the Bangor branch of the

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...

. She walked to London in the

Great Pilgrimage The Great Pilgrimage of 1913 was a march in Britain by suffragists campaigning non-violently for women's suffrage, organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Women marched to London from all around England and Wales a ...

of 1913. Descriptions that appeared in several contemporary newspapers of this journey via

Llanfairfechan Llanfairfechan ("Little Mary, Mother of God, St Mary's llan (placename), Parish") is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is known as a seaside resort and had a population at the United Kingdom Census 20 ...

and

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

were probably based on her account. When the

started in the UK in 1915 with a branch at

Llanfairpwll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanfa ...

, White became a member. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was secretary of a North Wales committee that raised money for a Welsh hospital unit within the

Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr. Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...

in Serbia. She later organised the education of a refugee Serbian boy at University College of North Wales. In 1926 she was the first woman to become a member of Caernarfonshire County Council. She was also important in the North Wales

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determi ...

, and especially the ‘Peace Pilgrimage’ of 1926.

Legacy

White was included among the Women's Equality Network Wales list of women who have made significant contributions to national life. In 2021 a

Purple Plaque The Purple Plaques (Placiau Porffor) scheme in Wales, UK aims to install plaques on buildings to increase recognition of the lives of women who have had a significant and long-lasting impact associated with Wales. The scheme was initiated by seve ...

was installed at 50 Upper Garth Road, Bangor where she lived for most of her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price White, Charlotte 1873 births 1932 deaths Welsh suffragists Welsh women activists Women councillors in Wales