Marian Emily Cripps, Baroness Parmoor (née Ellis; 6 January 1878 – 6 July 1952) was a British anti-war activist.

Early life and wartime activities

Marian Ellis was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, one of twin daughters of Quaker and radical parents, the colliery owner and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP John Ellis and his philanthropist wife

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(née Rowntree). Her twin sister was named

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

. She received a

home education Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

and learned to play the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

. At the time of the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the employment of Cecil ...

in 1895, she became a secretary to her father, and during the ensuing

Second Boer 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 South ...

, she took part in Ruth Fry's projects aimed at helping female victims of the conflict. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Ellis sisters donated money to the suffering families of

conscientious objectors A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

and financed the

No Conscription Fellowship The No-Conscription Fellowship was a British pacifist organization which was founded in London by Fenner Brockway and Clifford Allen on 27 November 1914, after the First World War had failed to reach an early conclusion. Other prominent suppor ...

. After publishing a leaflet uncensored by the government, Edith and other Quakers were imprisoned under the

Defence of the Realm Act The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the p ...

in 1918, while Marian continued contributing to the Quaker view of war.

Marriage and international campaigns

In 1919, Marian Ellis and the Baroness Courtney of Penwith established the Fight the Famine Committee. On 14 July that year, she married politician

Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor Charles Alfred Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor, (3 October 1852 – 30 June 1941) was a British politician who crossed the floor from the Conservative to the Labour Party and was a strong supporter of the League of Nations and of Church of England ...

, brother-in-law of Lady Courtney and Beatrice Webb. The marriage was childless, but Lady Parmoor strongly influenced her youngest stepson, Stafford Cripps. Lady Parmoor acted as president of the

World YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

between 1924 and 1928, and helped to establish the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

. She was a founding member of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

and became president of the organisation's British branch in 1950. Lady Parmoor actively served as vice-president of the

National Peace Council The National Peace Council (NPC), founded in 1908 and disbanded in 2000, acted as the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain, with a membership ranging from small village peace groups to national trade unions and local authorities. ...

and argued in favour of admitting China to the United Nations and negotiating an end to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. In 1948, Lady Parmoor wrote a pamphlet titled ''The Challenge of the Atomic Bomb'', which was published by the Friends Peace Committee. At the age of 70, the Dowager Baroness Parmoor undertook a study of nuclear fission in order to speak out against the use of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

. Two days before her death at her London home, aged 74, she assisted in writing a Quaker message to the prime minister,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, in protest against bombarding North Korea. She was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

, and her ashes were taken to

Frieth Frieth is a village in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies on the top of "Frieth Hill", which is part of the chalk escarpments of the Chiltern Hills. Frieth lies at a height of around , on the edge of a broad and dee ...

. Her twin sister, Edith, was also a devoted activist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parmoor, Marian Cripps, Baroness 1878 births 1952 deaths British anti–nuclear weapons activists British anti-war activists British anti–World War I activists British baronesses British identical twins British Quakers British women in World War I People from Nottingham Non-interventionism English twins Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people Wives of knights

Early life and wartime activities

Marriage and international campaigns

See also

References