Lady Hilda Alice Selwyn-Clarke, née Browning, (1899-1967) was a
British socialist activist.
Born in
Sevenoaks as Hilda Alice Browning, she was educated on a scholarship at a local
grammar school, then studied teaching at
Goldsmiths College.
[Susanna Hoe, ''The private life of old Hong Kong'', pp. 266-268]
Selwyn-Clarke became active in the
Independent Labour Party (ILP) and stood for it in
Clapham at the
1931 general election. In 1934, she stood for the
London County Council in
Clapham against
Bertram Mills, using the slogan "Bread not Circuses".
In 1934, she wrote a pamphlet, "Women under fascism and communism", with
Dora Fabian.
Selwyn-Clarke worked as an assistant to
Fenner Brockway, then for the Society for Cultural Relations with the
Soviet Union. Through this, she met
Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke, and the two married in 1935. She went to live with her husband on postings in
Ghana and
Nigeria, and from February 1938 in
Hong Kong, and brought up their daughter, Mary, who was born in 1936 and went to study 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 ...
. During this time, Selwyn-Clarke was known by the nickname 'Red Hilda'.
In Hong Kong, she chaired the local Eugenics League, which promoted the availability of
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
for working-class women, and was honorary secretary of the China Defence League, which raised funds for China in its war against Japan.
During
World War II, Selwyn-Clarke worked at the War Memorial Hospital. Although her husband initially continued in his role under Japanese occupation, he was arrested on 2 May 1943; she and Mary were sent to the
Stanley Internment Camp.
Dr. Selwyn-Clarke refused to make any confession in spite of torture, and in December 1944, he was released from a prison sentence and the family was reunited at another camp.
Dr. Selwyn-Clarke served as Governor of the
Seychelles between 1947 and 1951.
Back in England, Selwyn-Clarke was elected to
London County Council in 1952 as a
Labour Party councillor in
Fulham East, continuing as councillor for
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
when the seats were redistributed until she stood down in 1965 due to poor health. She was also prominent in the
Fabian Society, chairing its Colonial Bureau and working with the China Campaign Committee.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selwyn-Clarke, Hilda
1899 births
1967 deaths
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Members of London County Council
Internees at Stanley Internment Camp
Women councillors in England
Members of the Fabian Society
Clapham
Fulham