Gertrude Mary Denman, Lady Denman, GBE (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Pearson; 7 November 18842 June 1954) was a British woman active in women's rights issues including the promotion of Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She was also the wife of Lord Denman, the 3rd Baron Denman, fifth

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's capital city

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1913.

Early life

Nicknamed "Trudie", Gertrude Mary Pearson was the second child, and only daughter, of Weetman and Annie Pearson (later Viscount and Vicountess Cowdray). Her father was a successful businessman, initially in engineering, and later in the development of

oilfield A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s in Mexico, the production of munitions for the First World War, building the

Sennar Dam The Sennar Dam is an irrigation dam on the Blue Nile near the town of Sennar in the Al Jazirah region of Sudan. The dam is long and has a maximum height of . It was designed by the Scottish engineer Sir Murdoch MacDonald, begun in 1914 and com ...

on the Nile, as well as coal mining and newspaper publishing. Weetman was a staunch Liberal who supported causes such as free trade,

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...

and women's suffrage. Trudie's mother, Annie Pearson (née Cass), was the daughter of a farmer from

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, Yorkshire. Annie Pearson was a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

who was an active member of the executive of the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of fi ...

. Annie, Viscountess Cowdray, was appointed GBE in 1932. The Pearsons had just moved to London when Trudie was born; her brother Harold was two years old. Two younger brothers, Clive and Geoffrey, were born in 1887 and 1891, respectively. Due to the worldwide business interests of their father, the Pearson children saw little of their parents and spent their early years in the care of a nanny and a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

. In 1894, when Trudie was ten years old, her father was made a baronet and purchased Paddockhurst, a modern country house and estate in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Trudie continued her education in London, both at a day school in

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street is ...

, and later at home in Carlton House Terrace with a series of governesses, while her brothers were educated away from home at boarding school. At the age of sixteen, Trudie completed her formal education at a

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

in Dresden. The poet, broadcaster and socialite

Nadja Malacrida Louisa, Marchesa Malacrida de Saint-August (''née'' Louisa Nadia Green, 15 June 1895 – 3 October 1934), known by the pen names Nadja Malacrida and Nadja, was an English writer, radio broadcaster, racing driver, and socialite. A novelist, ...

was her cousin.

Marriage

In 1902, Trudie met Thomas Denman at a ball in London. A 28-year-old Liberal peer, Lord Denman was the son of a Sussex squire and had inherited his barony from his great-uncle when he was 20. Denman had been wounded as an officer in the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and had returned home and entered political life. Lord Denman courted the 18-year-old Trudie, who enjoyed his companionship; but when he proposed marriage she initially refused him. Under some pressure from her parents, the courtship continued, and in August 1903 the couple became engaged at Braemar Castle in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. The couple was married by the Bishop of Chichester on 26 November 1903 at St. Margaret's, Westminster. In 1905, Gertrude Denman gave birth to her first child, Thomas. Later that year Sir Weetman bought Trudie her own country estate,

Balcombe Balcombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east north east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north west and H ...

in Sussex. The house, Balcombe Place, was to become Denman's home for the rest of her life. Her second child, Judith, was born at Balcombe in 1907.

Women's suffrage

In May 1908, Lady Denman was elected to the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation. The youthful and inexperienced Trudie was joining a committee with some formidable elder members. Her mother, Lady Pearson had been on the Executive for many years together with its President Lady Carlisle,

Lady Aberconway The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

and Mrs Broadley Reid. The Women's Liberal Federation busied itself with the question of women's suffrage through 1908 and into early 1909. The question of suffrage was put on hold for the Women's Liberal Federation when the People's Budget presented by

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

in April 1909 presented a more pressing issue for the Liberals and subsequently precipitated the general election of January 1910. With the election over, the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation were able to turn again to the suffrage question, and Trudie was active in supporting the Executive's refusal to support Liberal parliamentary candidates who refused to answer the Executive's test questions on suffrage. At the Federation's 1910 Annual meeting, she was re-elected to the Executive with an increased vote and spoke in favour of a resolution to curtail the power of veto held by the House of Lords. By the end of 1910 it was clear that Lady Denman's life was about to change considerably; her husband Lord Denman, was to become the fifth

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Earl of Dudley Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of Stafford (now the West Midlands), is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ward family. History Dudley was first used for a pe ...

Australia

In 1911 Lord Denman was appointed

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Marseille from where they set sail for Melbourne, arriving on 31 July. The Denman children arrived later, having been sent via the Cape to avoid the heat of the Red Sea. The Denmans received a favourable welcome despite the tendency of the Australian press to poke fun at the English, and Lord Denman formed a cordial relationship with the Labour Government leader Andrew Fisher and his Attorney-General

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

. As well as the large number of official engagements that Lady Denman was required to attend as the wife of the Governor-General, she also found time to take an interest in the National Council of Women of each State. Lady Denman met the councils in all the States and encouraged them at their first interstate conference in 1912 to meet together annually so that all could work toward the same objectives. Another area in which Lady Denman took a particular interest was that of bush nursing. Bush nursing was a service to those living in remote and scattered areas far from doctors and hospital facilities. Lady Denman's predecessor, Lady Dudley, had promoted the idea of a self-supporting scheme in each state and had started raising funds for the project. When Trudie arrived in 1911 just one nurse had been appointed; by the end of the year four nurses were at work. In 1912 she opened two new centres and the following year she presided at the Bush Nursing Association's annual meeting. By the time the Denmans left Australia, her interest and support had led to the establishment of almost twenty Bush Nursing Centres in Victoria alone.Huxley, p. 49 Among her other interests was the Melbourne Repertory Theatre Club, founded by

Gregan McMahon Gregan McMahon, CBE (2 March 1874 – 30 August 1941)Allan Ashbolt,McMahon, Gregan (1874–1941), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 336–337. Retrieved 2 October 2009 was an Australian actor and theatrical director ...

, which she supported by attending productions, entertaining the company at Government House, and aiding their efforts to raise funds. Trudie also organised an exhibition of old furniture, silver and china held at Government House in April 1914. She collected over 500 exhibits, many from her own collections and those of her friend Nellie Melba. The exhibition was a great success with over 20,000 people attending over ten days, and the profits split between the Theatre club and the Arts and Crafts Society. On 11 March 1913 Lady Denman accompanied her husband and the rest of a Vice-Regal party to the Yass-Canberra district of New South Wales. The following day they were to perform the official opening ceremony of the new capital of Australia. The Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley, was determined that a start should be made on the new capital during the Labor Government's term of office, and that a formal ceremony should be held, even though the participants would have to camp out in the bush. For some time before the ceremony itself, the name chosen for the new capital had been the subject of some controversy. Many names had been put forward, but the one chosen by the Cabinet was kept secret, even from the Governor-General, until the moment of its announcement.Huxley, p. 52 Lady Denman 1913-03-12 Canberra-name

Five hundred official guests and almost 5,000 people travelled in special trains to witness the spectacle. Lord Denman laid the first foundation stone, the Prime Minister and O'Malley laid the second and third stones. The moment had arrived for the naming of the new capital. As well as the choice of name there had been much discussion in the Cabinet as to how the new name should be pronounced. It was decided that whatever pronunciation Lady Denman gave when she read out the name would be the one officially adopted. At noon, Mrs O'Malley presented to Lady Denman a gold case containing a card on which the chosen name was written. Amid a fanfare of trumpets and the bands playing 'All people that on earth do dwell', she made her way to a dais. The music ceased and Lady Denman said, "I name the capital of Australia Canberra." There were loud cheers, and while the artillery fired a twenty-one gun salute, the bands played " Advance Australia Fair" and " God Save the King". The date is now celebrated in the national capital as " Canberra Day". While Trudie and the children accepted life in Australia, and made the most of the opportunities it had to offer, Lord Denman found it uncomfortable and his health was not good. He was frequently in bed with colds and asthma, and his

hay fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...

was especially serious on account of the pollen laden blooms of Australia's national flower, the

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australia and South Africa **''Acacia'', large genus of shrubs and trees, native to Australasia **Black wattle, c ...

. Early in November 1913, Lord Denman announced to the Colonial Secretary Lord Harcourt his desire to resign. Eventually his request was accepted and the Denmans left Australia amid a barrage of laudatory farewell addresses in May 1914.

World War I

As the Denmans returned to Britain in 1914, World War I was about to start. In August, war was declared and Lord Denman took command of a regiment of the County of London (Middlesex) Yeomanry. Lady Denman involved herself with a war charity, Smokes for Wounded Soldiers And Sailors Society. The "SSS" as it was commonly known, had Queen Alexandra as its patron, and an impressive committee with Field-Marshal

Lord Grenfell Baron Grenfell, of Kilvey in the County of Glamorgan, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 15 July 1902 for the military commander Sir Francis Grenfell. His eldest son, the second Baron, was Deputy Speaker of the H ...

and

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Lord Charles Beresford Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford, (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British admiral and Member of Parliament. Beresford was the second son of J ...

and the wives of other leading admirals and generals among its members. The Society operated from Trudie's home at 4 Buckingham Gate, where Trudie had turned the ballroom into a packing centre. The "SSS" voluntary workers met all the hospital trains and ships and supplied all the service hospitals with free smokes. Gertrude Denman became the chairman of the Society in 1916, and by the time she resigned due to other commitments in 1917, some 265 million cigarettes and other smoking materials had been distributed. While Lady Denman devoted a great deal of her time to the SSS, in private her youngest brother Geoffrey had been one of the first casualties of the war when he was shot trying to escape from his captors during the First Battle of the Marne, and her marriage to Lord Denman continued to bring little happiness to either of them. Trudie was therefore delighted by the unexpected return from Kenya of her friend Nellie Grant (mother of Elspeth Huxley). Together they began a scheme to make use of food scraps and save food imports by encouraging the keeping of poultry. This was a popular endeavour, with families, hospitals and other institutions taking part, and resulted in Trudie becoming President of the Women's Section of the Poultry Association. In the latter part of 1916, Lady Denman accepted the post of chairman of the Women's Institute Sub-Committee of the Agricultural Organisation Society. In 1917 the administration of the expanding Women's Institute movement was transferred to the Women's branch of the Board of Agriculture's Food Production Department, which had been set up to form a Women's Land Army.

Affiliations

In 1917, she became the first President of the

National Federation of Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

, a post she held until 1946. She was the first Chairman of the Family Planning Association, President of the Ladies Golf Union, a member of the executive committee of the

Land Settlement Association The Land Settlement Association was a UK Government scheme set up in 1934, with help from the charities the Plunkett Foundation and the Carnegie Trust, to re-settle unemployed workers from depressed industrial areas,World War II she was Director of the Women's Land Army.

Damehoods

In 1933 Lady Denman was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She was advanced to Dame Grand Cross (GBE) in 1951; her mother, Viscountess Cowdray, had received the same honour in 1932. These entitled her to be known as Dame Gertrude Denman; however, as the wife of a peer, her existing title Lady Denman subsumed this.

Death

Gertrude Denman died on 2 June 1954, aged 69. Her husband died 22 days later, on 24 June 1954.

Legacy

Sydney Ferries Limited named the '' Lady Denman'' ferry in her honour in 1911 and was used on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

until 1979. It is now the primary attraction at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum at Huskisson, New South Wales where it was built.Lady Denman Ferry
Jervis Bay Maritime Museum Other naming honours include: Lady Denman Drive, a major arterial road in Canberra and Denman College, the college of the

. , a Canberra suburb, was named in 2012 in honour of Lady Denman and Lord Denman.

Notes

References

National Federation of Women's Institutes; article on Lady Denman
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Gertrude Denman, Baroness 1884 births 1954 deaths British baronesses Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of viscounts Politicians from London Spouses of Australian Governors-General Women's Land Army members (World War II) Gertrude Pearson family People from Balcombe, West Sussex Wives of knights