Anna Ruth Fry, usually known as Ruth Fry (4 September 1878 – 26 April 1962), was a British

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

writer,

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

and peace activist.

Life

Ruth was born in Highgate,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, into a Quaker family - her father was Sir Edward Fry, a judge and lawyer who became known worldwide for his skilled work as a negotiator at the Hague Tribunal in 1907 - and she was educated at home. She then worked as a peace activist and a writer, serving as treasurer of the Boer Home Industries Commission during the

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 Sou ...

, as general secretary of the Friends War Victims Relief Committee (a committee organised by British Quakers to provide help for refugees and victims of 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 ...

) from 1914 to 1924, as first chairman of the Russian Famine Relief Fund in 1921, as the secretary for the National Council for the Prevention of War in 1926-27, and as the treasurer of the London branch of the War Resisters' International in 1936-1937. She died on 26 April 1962, aged 83.

Literary works

In the First World War she toured the war zones as a traveling commissioner, writing about the relief efforts in her book ''A Quaker Adventure'' (1926). She was appointed to the editorial board of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's journal ''Reconciliation'' in 1935. She published a number of pamphlets and leaflets on pacifism and

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

in action.

In fiction

She appears as a character in

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...

's 2008 play ''

Fram Fram may refer to: Ships * ''Fram'' (ship), an arctic exploration vessel from Norway * MS ''Fram'', expedition cruise ship owned by Hurtigruten Group Places and geography * Fram, Paraguay, a town in Itapúa, Paraguay * Fram Formation, a se ...

'', played in its premiere at the National Theatre by

Clare Lawrence Clare Lawrence Moody (born 1975) is an English television and stage actor and producer. She is the daughter of English television director Laurence Moody. She is also credited as Clare Lawrence. Biography Born in Saddleworth, Greater Manchest ...

External links

Papers of Ruth Fry in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Ruth 1878 births 1962 deaths British anti–World War I activists English Christian pacifists English Quakers English women non-fiction writers Ruth Non-interventionism Nonviolence advocates People from Highgate

Life

Literary works

In fiction

Further reading

External links