Joan Rafferty Robins
OBE (23 November 1908 – 7 April 1994) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
television personality and author, best known for her cookery programmes.
Born in
Battersea, in London, as Joan Godfrey, she was brought up in a Catholic family and was educated at a convent school in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
. She later attended the National Training College of Domestic Subjects, and then qualified as a domestic science teacher at
Westminster College, London. However, she did not become a teacher, instead working as a receptionist, and then as a home adviser for the
Gas Light and Coke Company
The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on Ho ...
.
From 1940, Robins was seconded to the
Ministry of Food
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
as a
nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many ...
. Covering the South West of England, she gave demonstration and radio broadcasts, covering how to make nutritious meals using the rations available during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. She was also involved in setting up
soup kitchens in areas which had been heavily bombed, such as
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
and
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
.
Robins returned to the Gas Light and Coke Company in 1947, as its Chief Home Service Adviser; following nationalisation of the industry, she transferred to the
North Thames Gas Board
The North Thames Gas Board was an autonomous state-owned utility area gas board providing gas for light and heat to industries, commercial premises and homes in south-east England. The board's area of supply, encompassing , included parts of ...
. Highly successful at promoting the use of gas appliances, she was given a role with the same title at the
Gas Council
The Gas Council was a UK government body that provided strategic oversight of the gas industry in England, Wales and Scotland between 1949 and 1972.
The British gas industry was nationalised under the provisions of the Gas Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. ...
, and then became head of marketing for
British Gas
British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Servi ...
.
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' claimed that she was probably the first woman executive in the gas industry".
During this period, she hosted frequent television cookery programmes, starting with ''Housewife in the Kitchen'' in 1947, then ''For the Housewife'', for which she shared presenting duties with
Philip Harben
Philip Hubert Kendal Jerrold Harben (17 October 1906 – 27 April 1970) was an English cook, recognised as the first TV celebrity chef.
Biography
Harben was born in Fulham, London, and was educated at Highgate School. His mother, Mary Jerro ...
. In 1951, she worked with
John Yudkin to present a series on weight loss, then next presented ''About the Home'', which covered a wide variety of household topics, from cookery to clothing and fuel use. These series led to her writing several books, including ''Common-Sense Slimming'' and ''Common-Sense Cooking and Eating''.
Robins was also interested in women's rights. She regularly appears on ''
Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...
'', and from 1959 to 1962 was president of the
National Council of Women of Great Britain
The National Council of Women exists to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of women across Great Britain. Founded as the National Union of Women Workers, it said that it would "promote sympathy of thought and purpose among the women of Great Brita ...
. During her presidency, she called for women to be consulted more widely on government policy, and as a result, the Women's Consultative Council was formed.
She also ran a successful campaign against turnstiles being placed at the entrances to women's toilets. In a profile, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' claimed that "...she is no crusader about anything, and Joan Robins is so effective precisely because she has neither a sense of mission nor is she didactic. She simply uses common sense".
Robins was also active in the National Board of Catholic Women, was the founding president of the Institute of Home Economics, and treasurer of the
International Council of Women
The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...
.
She was a supporter of the
Conservative Party.
In the early 1970s, Robins retired to
Deddington
Deddington is a civil parish and small town in Oxfordshire about south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets: Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. Deddington is a small settlement but has a c ...
in Oxfordshire with her husband. She was also made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, Joan
1908 births
1994 deaths
British nutritionists
English food writers
English television chefs
People from Battersea
British women's rights activists
Presidents of the National Council of Women of Great Britain