Mary Shirville (5 February 1926 - 25 December 2020) was an author and flower arranger. She was co-author of the constitution of the

National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies The National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS) is a society of flower arranging clubs and societies in the United Kingdom. They banded together as the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies in 1959. In 1984 NAFAS w ...

(NAFAS) in the UK and its national chair from 1983 until 1985.

Biography

Mary Jeyes Nelson was born near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, UK. After finishing her education she was employed by Birmingham city council, the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

and as a cook in a private school. She married Bill Gough in 1952, and this began her involvement with flower arranging. She joined

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

Horticultural Society and started to organise their flower shows. She was subsequently a founder of the Knowle Flower Club. In 1959, in collaboration with her husband, Shirville wrote the constitution of the new National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies. Shirville subsequently held positions in several flower arranging societies. She was the first Chair of the NAFAS South Midlands area in 1962. From 1983 until 1985 she was the national chair of NAFAS and awarded its National Associate of Honour. The Mary Gough Salver is awarded in the floral art section at the

Monmouthshire Show The Monmouthshire Show is the largest one-day agricultural show in Wales, taking place annually in Monmouth on the first Saturday in July. Origin The origin of the show dates back to the 1790s when Monmouth's agricultural society organised p ...

. In 1983, Shirville joined the RHS Review Committee and was awarded an RHS Honorary Fellow in recognition of her contribution to the review of the society's governance and activities. She served on the RHS Council from 1988 until 1995. She was awarded the RHS

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

in 1993. Shirville served on several other committees until 2004, including as chair of the Floral Arrangement Committee. Her first husband died in 1970, and she remarried first Maurice Newnes and then Paul Shirville in 1995 (deceased 13 December 2006).

Publications

Shirville was editor of the NAFAS South Midlands area magazine between 1968 and 1973. She edited ''The Nafas Book of Flower Arranging. A Step-by-Step Guide to Decorating Your Home with Flowers'', 1986 and was the author of ''Arranging Everlasting Flowers: a step by step guide to creating spectacular flower arrangements'', NAFAS/Ebury Press, 1987 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirville, Mary 1926 births 2020 deaths Victoria Medal of Honour recipients Florists People from the West Midlands (region) British magazine editors 20th-century British non-fiction writers Women magazine editors 20th-century English women writers