Marguerite Ellen-Gaudin Stocker MBE (2 March 1901 – July 1992) was governor of

HM Prison Askham Grange HM Prison Askham Grange is a women's open category prison, located in Askham Richard village in North Yorkshire, England. The prison is run by His Majesty's Prison Service. History H.M. Prison Askham Grange was opened in January 1947 as a wom ...

in Yorkshire from 1959 until her retirement in 1967.

Early life

Marguerite Stocker was born in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

to Walter Arthur and Louisa Jane Stocker (née Gaudin) on 2 March 1901. She attended Jersey Ladies' College, now

Jersey College for Girls Jersey College for Girls (JCG, Jèrriais: ''Lé collège jèrriais pour les fil'yes'') is a government-run, fee-paying, academically selective

. She left school in the summer of 1918. Marguerite's sister was Chief Commander Kathleen Gaudin Stocker in the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

(ATS) and was recognised for her service by the award of Military Division of the Order of the British Empire, 1945.

Career

In September 1918 Stocker became an apprentice engineer at Galloway Engineering Co. in

Tongland Tongland is a small village about north of Kirkcudbright, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies on the west bank of the Dee near its confluence with the Tarff Water. History Tongland ...

near

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

, Scotland. The Tongland factory was set up by

Thomas Pullinger Thomas Charles Willis Pullinger CBE OBE OBK JP (1867 – July 1945) was an English automobile engineer. He began his career working with bicycles before the first cars were built. After working for Sunbeam and Humber, he helped expand the Scott ...

for manufacture of aero engines during World War One. The factory advertised professional training for female engineers, beyond usual war work, and was described as "a fine university for women engineers". Tongland Works - geograph

Stocker wrote about her experiences at Galloway Engineering Co in the Tongland factory's works magazine ''The Limit'', under the name "M.E.G.S.", including "New Girl's Impression" in March 1919, "Monday-itis" in September 1919, and "A Lament" in February 1920. In 1922, having left Tongland, Stocker described her "two and a half years' course of engineering" in the Jersey Ladies' College "Past and Present Review". During World War Two, Stocker served in the

(ATS) at the rank of 2nd Subaltern. In 1957 Stocker was appointed as governor of Hill Hall women's prison in Essex, on the death of the previous governor, Joan Wilson, formerly of the Women's Prison Manchester. In 1959 Stocker became governor of Askham Grange women's prison in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, which operated on

open prison An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the prisoners are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment w ...

conditions. She succeeded

Joanna Kelley Joanna Elizabeth Kelley OBE (née Beaden; 1910 – 2003) was a British prison governor and civil servant. She led prisons in Britain, including Holloway Prison, where she changed the way prisoners were treated during and after their sentence. Sh ...

, who left to become governor of HM Prison Holloway. Stocker contributed her expertise as a prison governor to an article on "Correctional Systems and National Values" in 1960. She was a guest at the 6th Annual Women of the Year lunch at the Savoy Hotel in London in October 1960, alongside

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

Stocker was awarded the honour of

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1965. In October 1976 Stocker was interviewed by

Caroline Parsons Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

on ''BBC Woman's Hour'' about her days as a prison governor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocker, Marguerite 1901 births 1992 deaths Jersey women British prison governors Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at the Jersey College for Girls