Sheila Ramsay Lochhead (; 7 December 1910 – 22 July 1994) was a hostess, prison visitor and writer. In 1924 her widowed father,

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

, became Britain's Prime Minister. Her sister

Ishbel MacDonald Ishbel Allan MacDonald (2 March 1903 – 20 June 1982) was the daughter of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Ramsay MacDonald and his wife Margaret MacDonald née Gladstone. Margaret's death in 1911 – a year after their son David had died ...

, became his political hostess and then Sheila took on the role. Sheila later became a

prison visitor A prison visitor is a person who visits prisons to befriend and monitor the welfare of prisoners in general, as distinct from a person who visits a specific prisoner to whom they have a prior connection. Prisons may also have a visiting committee. ...

, leading the National Association of Official Prison Visitors for three years.

Biography

Lochhead was born Sheila MacDonald in 1910, she was one of six children of

, the future

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

, and his wife Margaret MacDonald (), a social reformer and women's rights activist. MacDonald was head girl at the North London Collegiate School. She then studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

where she won a hockey blue and graduated with a 2:1. She reportedly hoped, at one time, to enter politics. In 1924, her widowed father had become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Along with her sister

Ishbel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

, she became her father's hostess while he was at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

, including when he was sent abroad on missions. Sheila found time to do this while also working at Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Sheila married Andrew Van Slyke Lochhead in 1948. The couple had three children together and lived in Swansea, Wales. Lochhead had worked in prisons and she wanted them reformed. She was chair of the National Association of Official Prison Visitors for three years and wrote a history of prison visiting in 1993 titled "''Outside-in: A Study of Prison Visiting''". She and her husband lived , and she organised a home for the homeless and a hostel for people who had been in prison. Lochead died in 1994, a year after a stroke left her half paralysed. Her husband Andrew survived his wife for eight years, and died in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lochhead, Sheila 1994 deaths 1910 births 20th-century British women writers People educated at North London Collegiate School British socialists British prison reformers Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford British political hostesses Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Burials in Scotland