Hilda Martindale

CBE 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 ...

(12 March 1875 – 18 April 1952) was a British civil servant and author, and the daughter of

Louisa Martindale Louisa Martindale, (30 October 1872 – 5 February 1966) was an English physician, surgeon, and writer. She also served as magistrate on the Brighton bench, was a prison commissioner and a member of the National Council of Women. She served ...

. She was a prominent campaigner for the improvement of working conditions, particularly those of women. Her will established the Hilda Martindale Trust in 1952 to fund British women attempting to establish themselves in professions dominated by men.

Early life and education

Hilda Martindale was born on 12 March 1875 in

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

. Her mother was

, née Spicer, a British activist for women's rights and suffragist. Her father was William Martindale, a City merchant who died before she was born. Her elder sister Dr. Louisa Martindale (named after their mother) was a leading surgeon. She was taught initially by governesses in Switzerland and Germany before attending Brighton High School for Girls (now

Brighton Girls Brighton Girls, formerly Brighton and Hove High School, is an independent day school for girls aged 4 to 18 in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Brighton Girls GDST is ISI rated ‘Excellent’. The school was founded in 1876 ...

). She would go on to study at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

and later at Bedford College. During 1900-1901 she traveled around the world studying how children were treated.

Career and activism

In 1901 she became a factory inspector with the Home Office. She was one of Britain's first female factory inspectors. In 1903 she wrote an important report about lead poisoning in brickworks. In 1904 she and her mother attended the

International Congress of Women The International Congress of Women was created so that groups of existing women's suffrage movements could come together with other women's groups around the world. It served as a way for women organizations across the nation to establish formal m ...

in Berlin. By 1914 she had become a Senior Lady Inspector. In 1918 she was a recipient of one of the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

; specifically, she was made 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 ...

(OBE). She became a Commander of the same Order (CBE) in the

1935 Birthday Honours The 1935 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 3 June 1935 to celebrate the Birthday and Silver Jubilee of King George V. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged b ...

. In 1925 she became Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories. In 1933 she joined the Treasury, and she retired at age 65 in 1937. She had been one of the first women to reach the higher levels of the Civil Service. She was a member of the

Whitley Council Whitley may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Whitley, Berkshire, a suburb of Reading *Whitley, Cheshire, a village near Warrington * Whitley, Coventry, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands *Whitley, Essex, near Birdbrook * Whitley, Wigan, Greater ...

Committee on the Women's Question, and as such she argued in favour of women's right to choose whether or not to leave their jobs if they got married, as well as in favour of equal pay. After retiring, she wrote books including ''A History of Women in the Civil Service'', '' One Generation to Another'' (about her family), ''Some Victorian Portraits'', and ''Women Servants of the State: 1870-1938''.

Death and legacy

Martindale died on 18 April 1952 at 44 Coleherne Court,

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, London. In her will she appointed Bedford College as trustees of the Hilda Martindale Trust, which "makes a very limited number of awards to British women towards training or studying for a career in a profession where women are underrepresented. The maximum award is £3,000."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martindale, Hilda 1875 births 1952 deaths British civil servants British feminists British writers Factory inspectors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British women civil servants People from Leytonstone International Congress of Women people British women writers