Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Ethel May Wormald DBE (née Robinson; born 19 November 1901 – died 23 February 1993) was a British politician, educationist and social activist. She was the second woman

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The office of Lord Mayor of Liverpool has existed in one form or another since the foundation of Liverpool as a borough by the Royal Charter of King John in 1207, simply being referred to as the Mayor of Liverpool. The position is now a most ...

. She was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her efforts.

Biography

She attended

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

on scholarship. After graduating she married Stanley Wormald. The couple had two sons. The family relocated to

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 ...

after Stanley Wormald took up employment at the Liverpool Institute.Obituary in ''The Independent''
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Political career/activism

She was involved the Personal Aid Society and the Socialist Educational Association. She stood in 1953 as a Labour candidate for

Kensington, Liverpool Kensington is an inner city area of Liverpool, England, immediately to the east of the city centre, bordered by Everton to the north, Fairfield to the east and Edge Hill to the south. The majority of Kensington is in the Kensington and Fairfi ...

. She served on the council until 1968, chairing the Education Committee from 1955–61, and from 1963–67, when she became the second woman ever to be named as

. She became a member of the Liverpool Regional Hospital Board and, while a member, fought to create a centre for mentally ill patients who were released from local hospitals without options. A few years before her death she moved to

Bethesda, Wales Bethesda (; ) is a town and community on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is the fifth-largest community in Gwynedd. History The settlement's ancient name was Cilfoden, formerly know ...

with her younger son, Michael Wormald, a Labour councillor in Arfon for twelve years.

Death

She died at

Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor (; ) is a cathedral city and community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated ...

on 23 February 1993, aged 91.

Legacy

The Ethel Wormald College, a day school which allows older students to train as teachers without spending extra time at residential colleges.

References

External links

National Register of Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wormald, Ethel 1901 births 1993 deaths Alumni of the University of Leeds British activists British women activists British educational theorists Mayors of Liverpool Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne People from Bethesda, Gwynedd Politicians from Liverpool Women mayors of places in England 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Women councillors in England