Elsbeth Dimsdale CBE (17 December 1871 – October 1949), born Elsbeth Philipps, was a British health campaigner, University Lecturer and Liberal politician.

Early life and education

Dimsdale was the daughter of James Erasmus Philipps, vicar of Warminster and prebendary of

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

;Clare Mulley, ''The Woman Who Saved the Children''"Woman candidate: Cambridge Liberals choose Fellow of Newnham", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 15 October 1923 her older brother, John, later became a Member of Parliament and was made a viscount. She studied at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

, where she received a first-class honours degree, and subsequently became the first woman to receive a college fellowship at the University of Cambridge. While at Cambridge, she founded the Women's University Club.

Career

In 1902, Elsbeth married Marcus Dimsdale, and she began working for the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

, while also undertaking voluntary work for Cambridgeshire County Council relating to public health. She gave birth to her fifth child in 1912, but the baby died of tuberculosis, and she thereafter focused her attention on the disease, founding the Papworth Tuberculosis Colony, and also campaigning to ensure TB was not present in milk for human consumption. For this work, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Politics

Dimsdale was active in the Cambridgeshire Liberal Association, whose MP, Edwin Montagu, was a member of the Coalition government led by David Lloyd George. He, the local Liberal association and Dimsdale all went over to the newly formed National Liberal Party in 1922. She took an active part in the affairs of the new party at a national level, and was appointed as a joint Honorary Secretary of the Council of the National Liberal Party. Montagu lost his seat at the 1922 General Election and chose to retire from politics. Dimsdale was selected to succeed him as candidate and following the merger of the two Liberal factions, she became Liberal Party candidate at the 1923 general election. She failed to win back the seat and did not run for parliament again. She served as a Liberal member of Cambridgeshire County Council for some years. During World War II, Dimsdale hoped to organise the evacuation of some British children to Canada.Mark Kristmanson, ''Plateaus of Freedom: Nationality, Culture, and State Security in Canada'', p.12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimsdale, Elsbeth 1871 births 1949 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) councillors Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Councillors in Cambridgeshire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Women councillors in England