Edna Annie Crichton (1 May 1876 – 5 March 1970) was

lord mayor of York The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor ...

from 1941 to 1942, the first woman to hold that position.

Biography

Crichton was born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

on 1 May 1876. Her father, Joseph Marshall Sturge JP was a merchant, her mother was Anne (Annie) Burke, and her sister was Mary Sturge Gretton, historian. Crichton attended

Sidcot School Sidcot School is a British co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the Mendip Hills near the village of ...

and worked on the Passmore Edwards settlement in Bloomsbury, London. In the early 1910s, she took on a role in York, serving on the national health insurance committee and on the board of guardians for the city. In 1919, Crichton was elected to

City of York Council City of York Council is the municipal governing body of the City of York, a unitary authority in Yorkshire, England. It is composed of 47 councillors, one, two, or three for each of the 21 electoral wards of York. It is responsible for all local ...

, a position she would go on to hold for 23 years. Crichton was

Lord Mayor of York The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor ...

from 1941 to 1942, the first woman to hold that position. As lord mayor, she led the city through the

Baedeker raids The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, includ ...

. She spent her time visiting hospitals and many of the bombed houses. Crichton was also the first female

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in York, a position she took on in 1942 and she held for 13 years, concerning herself with social interests such as health, housing and education, sitting on committees for each. She led initiatives on the housing front, establishing a committee on housing and ensured construction of new houses and removal of dilapidated ones. In 1955, on her retirement, she became the second woman to receive the Freedom of the City of York. She married David Sprunt Crichton on 22 August 1901 and they had two children, Vida and David together. After retirement in 1955, she continued to live in York until her death at Clifton on 5 March 1970. In 2017 a blue plaque was unveiled at her house at 30 Clifton in York celebrating her achievements. The plaque was unveiled by Rt Hon Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Barbara Boyce. Three other women ex-Lord Mayors witnessed the unveiling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crichton, Edna 1876 births 1970 deaths Lord Mayors of York Women mayors of places in England People from Gloucester People from York