Wilhelmina Allison Campbell (14 January 1901 – 28 February 1983) was a

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish ...

activist.

Biography

Born in the

Cathcart Cathcart ( sco, Kithcart, gd, Coille Chart)
is an are ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Campbell attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where she became active in the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and was a champion debater. On graduating, she became a teacher and increasingly interested in Scottish nationalism, becoming a founder member of the

National Party of Scotland The National Party of Scotland (NPS) was a centre-left political party in Scotland which was one of the predecessors of the current Scottish National Party (SNP). The NPS was the first Scottish nationalist political party, and the first which c ...

in 1928.''The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women'', pp.65-66 Campbell rapidly became the most prominent women in the NPS, jointly convening its Women's Section and sitting on the National Council and various committees, while also becoming one of its best-known public speakers. The only woman to stand for election to Westminster for the NPS, she stood for the party at the

1931 Glasgow St Rollox by-election The 1931 Glasgow St Rollox by-election was held on 7 May 1931 due to the death of the incumbent Labour MP, James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distin ...

, at which she took 15.8% of the vote, the best performance by any party candidate throughout its existence. She stood again in Glasgow St Rollox at the 1931 general election, her vote dropping only slightly, to 13.3%. In March 1932, Campbell married Tom Gibson, a fellow members of the NPS, and the couple moved to London later in the year. Although she never again played a major role in Scottish nationalism, she made occasional contributions, including a 1955 piece for the ''

Scots Independent ''The Scots Independent'' is a monthly Scottish political newspaper that is in favour of Scottish independence. It was formed in 1926 with William Gillies as editor, by the Scots National League (SNL) and switched its allegiance to the Nationa ...

'' in which she described the process of forming the NPS.Scots Independent - Seventy Years Old this Month
", ''

'', November 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Elma 1901 births 1983 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Cathcart Scottish nationalists