Florence Daysh,

OBE 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 ...

(1908–1979) was a Barbadian social worker and politician. In 1954, she was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Barbados The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to repl ...

and then in 1958, she was elected to serve in the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

, one of only two women. In addition to her social welfare activities, Daysh actively worked to improve women's rights and served as the president of the Caribbean Women's Association in the 1960s. She was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

in 1957.

Early life

Florence Evelyn Smith was born on 22 March 1908 at Golden Grove Plantation, St. Philip Parish,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

to the white plantation owner, Howard Smith and his Afro-Barbadian wife, Evelyn. Smith's family ostracized him for marrying a black woman in deviance of the social conventions of the times. Her father and a Mr. S. Browne purchased the plantation in 1905. Smith entered Codrington High School in 1917 and the following year, the family moved to the Thicketts Plantation, which Howard purchased that year. In addition to managing, Golden Grove and Thicketts, he was part of a syndicate which owned and managed the Three Houses Plantation, Forescue Plantation, the factory at Three Houses and the Bathsheba Railway. The St. Philip District Hospital has a wing named in honour of her mother and the family was known for their philanthropy. Known for her flamboyant social life and outspokenness, Smith was known widely as "Brown Sugar" or "The Little Black Savage" during her youth. As her parents had defied social custom, Smith was open about her mixed heritage as well. Graduating from Codrington in 1920, she and then went to

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, England to further her studies and completed finishing school in France.

Career

Returning to Barbados, after completion of her schooling, Smith became involved in social work, with the Black Rock Baby Welfare League. She served as president of the Baby Welfare League, which provided milk and medical care to infants, for fifteen years. In 1944, she joined the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

and went back to England for the duration of the war. In 1947, she returned to Barbados, where she met and married Norman Goodlet Daysh, a New Zealand seaman. The following year, with Marcella Peebles, Daysh founded the St. Philip Bay League and was the primary benefactor of the Joan Arundell Day Nursery, having built and equipped the facility. In 1950, Daysh began her political life, with her election to the St. Philip

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

. In 1954, she was appointed to the Legislative Council, only the second woman who had ever served, after

Muriel Hanschell Muriel Hanschell (3 October 1884 – 28 May 1971) was a Barbadian social worker and politician. She was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1949, becoming the first female member of the Parliament of Barbados. Biography Hanschell was born ...

, who had been appointed in 1949. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1957 for her social welfare participation. When the

was formed in 1958, she ran for office and was elected as one of the only two women in the federal House of Representatives. She was a supporter of Caribbean self-determination and as one of the few candidates in the election who were not aligned with the

West Indies Federal Labour Party The West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP) or ''Federalists'' was one of two main Federal parties in the short-lived West Indies Federation, the other being the West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP) or ''Democrats''. The party was the f ...

or Democratic Labour Party, her support of

Grantley Adams Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC (28 April 1898 – 28 November 1971) was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federa ...

for Prime Minister played a pivotal role in his selection as first head of the federal government. Daysh pushed for the creation of the Barbados Branch of the British Red Cross Society and in 1960, was appointed its first director. She also served as first president of the Barbados Council of Women and in 1960, was elected as president of the Caribbean Women's Association. One of the issues that she strongly supported was a birth control initiative.

Death and legacy

Daysh died in 1979. She is remembered most for her philanthropy, which included a scholarship fund bearing her name given out by the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. The plantation in which she was born is now open to the public and rented as a venue for events.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daysh, Florence 1908 births 1979 deaths People from Saint Philip, Barbados Women's rights activists Barbadian social workers 20th-century Barbadian politicians 20th-century Barbadian women politicians Barbadian activists Barbadian women activists Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation