Gladys Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx (; 12 January 19166 June 2018) was an English poet and the wife of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, who twice served as

British prime minister 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. Modern pri ...

. She was the first British prime minister's spouse to become a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

, living to the age of .

Life

Gladys Mary Baldwin was born in

Diss, Norfolk Diss is a market town, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South Norfolk, England; it is near to the boundary with Suffolk. It had a population of 7,572 in 2011. It lies in the valley of the Ri ...

, the daughter of the Reverend Daniel Baldwin, who was a Congregationalist minister. She attended boarding school at Milton Mount College near

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

, leaving aged 16 to attend a secretarial course for two years. She was employed as a stenographer at

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and su ...

Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in ...

before marrying

on New Year's Day 1940 at

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

. Baldwin and Wilson had two sons, Robin (born 1943) and Giles (born 1948). In 1970, her volume of poetry ''Selected Poems'' was published, and, in 1976, Mary Wilson was one of three judges of the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

, the other judges being Walter Allen and

Francis King Francis Henry King (4 March 19233 July 2011)Ion Trewin and Jonathan Fryer"Obituary: Francis King" ''The Guardian'', 3 July 2011. was a British novelist and short-story writer. He worked for the British Council for 15 years, with positions in ...

. According to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' entry for Harold Wilson, written by

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

, Wilson was not satisfied with life in politics. It was this detachment which gave the ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' spoof "

Mrs Wilson's Diary Prime Minister parodies are a long-running feature of the British satirical magazine ''Private Eye'', which have been included in the majority of issues since the magazine's inception. The parodies consist of one arch satirical personification of ...

", the supposed diary of Wilson, written in the style of the BBC's daily radio serial ''

Mrs Dale's Diary ''Mrs Dale's Diary'' (known as ''The Dales'' from 1962 to 1969) was the first significant BBC Radio serial drama. It was first broadcast on 5 January 1948 on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2, running until 25 April 1969. A new episode ...

'', a spurious look of authenticity. Politically, she opposed her husband in the 1975 European Communities membership referendum by voting against continued membership and in her support for the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

. Wilson was widowed on 24 May 1995 when her husband died of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

after ten years of illness. They were married for 55 years. She continued to live in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, a short distance from

Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...

. She retained the couple's holiday home in the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

. In 2010, at the age of 94, she attended the funeral of

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...

. Three years later, at the age of 97, she accepted an invitation to the funeral of Margaret Thatcher.

Death

Wilson died after a stroke at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

in London on 6 June 2018, at the age of 102, having outlived her husband by 23 years. The longest-lived spouse of a British prime minister, she was the first to live beyond the age of 100 years. A private service followed by cremation took place on mainland Britain, and her ashes were buried with her husband at Old Town Churchyard in

St Mary's, Isles of Scilly St Mary's () is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England, United Kingdom. Description St Mary's has an area of — 40 percent of the total land area of the Isles ...

Publications

* * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Mary 1916 births 2018 deaths 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers English anti–nuclear weapons activists Wilson of Rievaulx English women poets People from Diss, Norfolk Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Spouses of life peers Harold Wilson English women centenarians British Eurosceptics