Elizabeth Leila Millicent "Sally" Chilver (née Graves; 3 August 1914 – 3 July 2014) was principal of Bedford College, University of London from 1964 to 1971 and

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

from 1971 to 1979.

Background

The only daughter of Philip Perceval Graves and his wife Millicent,''CHILVER, Elizabeth Millicent, (Mrs R C Chilver)'', Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2011
accessed 29 May 2012. Elizabeth Chilver was educated at

Benenden School Benenden School is an independent boarding school for girls in Kent, England, in Hemsted Park at Benenden, between Cranbrook and Tenterden. Benenden has a boarding population of over 550 girls aged 11 to 18, as well as a limited number of day ...

and

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, I ...

,Archives in London and the M25 area (AIM25) including Higher Education in London
29 May 2012 where she was a close friend of

Inez Pearn Marie Agnes Pearn (1913–1976), known as Inez Pearn and by the pen name Elizabeth Lake, was a British novelist who was acclaimed for her "remorseless interest in emotional truth", her "formidable ... characterisation", and her ability to evoke pl ...

(later to become a novelist and marry

Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by th ...

and subsequently – following respective divorces – Charles Madge). She was an historian, political scientist and anthropologist.''Higher'' magazine, Royal Holloway & Bedford College, Issue 20, December 2014

Career

Chilver was a journalist from 1937 to 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

she served as a temporary Civil Servant, and after it returned to journalism, writing for the '' Daily News'' (1945–47). From 1948 to 1957 she was a temporary principal and secretary of the Social Science Research Council and the Economic Research Committee of the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

. She became a director of

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

Institute of Commonwealth Studies The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the sole postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriented ...

from 1957 to 1961 and was then a senior researcher there from 1961 to 1964, when she became Principal of Bedford College before in 1971 becoming Principal of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

. She established Bedford as a co-educational college in 1965. In 1995 and 1996 various Festschrift publications appeared to celebrate her work, especially in the field of Cameroon Studies where she was known as "Mama for Story". In Cameroon she worked closely and published with

Phyllis Kaberry Phyllis Mary Kaberry (17 September 1910 – 31 October 1977) was a social anthropologist who dedicated her work to the study of women in various societies. Particularly with her work in both Australia and Africa, she paved the way for a femin ...

Personal life

In 1937, she married Richard Clementson Chilver (died 1985), a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

."CHILVER, Richard Clementson profile
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 30 May 2012. She was a niece of

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

and a friend of

Inez Holden Beatrice Inez Lisette (Paget) Holden (21 November 1903 – 30 May 1974) was a British writer and Bohemian social figure and journalist, also known for her association with George Orwell. Born at Wellesbourne, Warwickshire to Wilfred Millington H ...

, who did research into the archives of the Baptist Mission to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

for which Chilver made payment arrangements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilver, Elizabeth Millicent 1914 births 2014 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford People educated at Benenden School People associated with Bedford College, London Place of birth missing Principals of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford

Background

Career

Personal life

See also

References