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, ...
co-operative movement
The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...
activist from Manchester.
Early life and family
Barton was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, the daughter of William Stockton, a prison warden born from
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Her maternal grandmother, born in Ireland, also lived with them while Eleanor was growing up. Little is known of her early life, but it is believed her family was active in the labour movement in Manchester.
Activism
In 1894, she married Alfred Barton, a librarian and active anarchist at the time, and the two moved to
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
Women's Co-operative Guild
The Co-operative Women's Guild was an auxiliary organisation of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom which promoted women in co-operative structures and provided social and other services to its members.
History
The guild was founded ...
, and became secretary of its Hillsborough branch, then serving in succession on the district, Yorkshire and central committees of the Guild. She was elected as national treasurer in 1913, then as president the following year.Joyce Bellamy and H. F. Bing, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.38-40
Barton went on a speaking tour of the United States in 1919, invited by the Labor Party of America, talking about child welfare. In 1921, she became assistant secretary of the guild, then secretary in 1925, serving until 1937. She spent her time in office refocusing the guild away from
handicrafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
and towards education and the social sciences.
In 1919, Barton was elected to
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...
candidate, one of the first two women elected in the city. She stood for the Co-operative Party in Birmingham King's Norton at the
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
, but was never elected.
During the 1930s, Barton promoted the white poppy symbol for the Guild, and was prominent in the
Peace Pledge Union
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...
and
Hands Off Russia
The Hands Off Russia campaign was an international political initiative first launched by British Socialists in 1919 to organise opposition to the British intervention on the side of the White armies against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War ...
campaign. She also held numerous co-operative movement posts, including directorships of the
Co-operative Permanent Building Society
The Co-operative Permanent Building Society was a mutual building society, providing mortgages and savings accounts to its members. Its head office was located at New Oxford House in London.Co-operative Newspaper Publishing Society.
By 1949, Barton's husband and son had both died, and she moved to
Papatoetoe
Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
to live with her daughter, Mrs. Linda Bennett. She died at their home in Papatoetoe in 1960.''New Zealand, Death Index, 1848-1966''