Dame Rachel Elizabeth Waterhouse ( Franklin; 2 January 1923 – 14 October 2020) was an English local historian, consumer affairs activist and writer.

Biography

Rachel Franklin was born in Whitchurch,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, the daughter of Percival Franklin, a loss adjuster, and his wife Ruby (née Knight). The family relocated to

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 ...

while she was a child. Rachel won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls ''(KEHS)'' () is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest o ...

in the city, then an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

to study history at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

, graduating in 1944. After 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 opposin ...

she returned to Birmingham where she married John Waterhouse, a

university lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct res ...

, in 1947. In 1950 she completed a PhD at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

Historian

Waterhouse became a founder member of

The Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...

in 1958 and was instrumental in setting up the Birmingham Branch in 1967, serving as its first Chairman between 1967 and 1971. She was a member of the group which resurrected the

Lunar Society The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 ...

around 1990 and became its founder Chairman. She was president of the

Birmingham and Midland Institute , mottoeng = Endless Learning , established = 1854 by Act of Parliament , city = Birmingham , province = West Midlands , country = United Kingdom , president = Sir David Cannadine , vice_president = Dr Serena Trowbridge, Sami ...

for 1992.

Consumers' Association

Waterhouse was a council member of the Consumers' Association from 1966 and its chairman from 1982 to 1990. She was also a member of the

National Consumer Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and of the

Health and Safety Commission The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was a United Kingdom non-departmental public body. The HSC was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). It was formally established on 31 July 1974. The Commission consisted of a chairm ...

.Hansard
17 April 1991.

Honours

Waterhouse was made a

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1980 and a

Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in 1990. She received honorary degrees from

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...

, the University of Birmingham and

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

.Obituary
LunarSociety.org. Accessed 20 November 2023.

Death

Waterhouse died in 2020 at the age of 97. Her husband predeceased her in 2000. She was survived by her children (Matthew, Edmund, Deborah and Rebecca), eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Written works

*''The Birmingham and Midland Institute, 1854–1954'' *''Children in Hospital: a hundred years of child care in Birmingham '' *''A Hundred Years of Engineering Craftsmanship: a short history tracing the adventurous development of Tangye's Limited, Smethwick, 1857–1957'' *''King Edward VI High School for Girls, 1883–1983'' *''Six King Edward Schools, 1883–1983'' *''The 1990s and a Christian Response to Consumerism'' *''The Birmingham and Midland Institute: the Institute's contributions to Birmingham, 1855–2005'' Joint authorship: *''How Birmingham became a Great City'' (jointly with John Whybrow) *''Birmingham One Hundred Years Ago: social and political life and cultural life'' (jointly with Charles Parish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterhouse, Rachel 1923 births 2020 deaths British activists British historians British women activists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Birmingham