E is for Electricity & the Electrical Association for Women

The next instalment in our Special Collections A-Z is E for Electricity and, specifically, the Electrical Association for Women.

The Electrical Association for Women was formed in 1924: at this time most houses had coal fires and stoves, and many had gas lighting. However British electrical production had increased by over 100 percent during the First World War period. Electricity was becoming recognised as a source of power for many purposes besides lighting; and labour-saving electrical appliances – cookers, kettles, toaster and vacuum cleaners – were beginning to find their way into the home. It has been suggested that very few households in Britain actually owned electrical appliances, apart from the electric iron before 1940 and the “tools of the housewife” – the washing machines, driers and refrigerators were only, in the late 1950s, coming to be regarded as necessities instead of luxuries.

MS383/A4000/2/2 Advertisement from the Electrical Association for Women annual conference programme, 1939

Mrs M.L. Matthews was a member of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) formed in January 1919 to speak for, protect and advance the interests of those women who faced dismissal from engineering firms and positions at the end of the First World War. It was Matthews that conceived the idea of “a scheme popularising the domestic use of electricity”. The WES council accepted the idea and a new committee decided to form a “Women’s Electrical Association” (WEA).

The WEA held its first council meeting on 16th December and appointed Caroline Haslett as director.

[She] believed firmly in the value of education and training for women for all jobs – in the home, or in the business and professional world and in the wide sphere of public service…..Believed in equal opportunities for all…had a clear vision of the benefits which the use of electricity in the home could bring to women. She thought of it as their real emancipator setting them free from household slavery in order that they could seek and find themselves both an individuals and as members of the community.

[MS62/MB1/R/291]

Caroline Haslett CBE as Director of EAW taken c.1925. The Archives of the Institution of Engineering and Technology

On 30th April 1925, to avoid confusion with the initials of the Workers’ Educational Association, the name was changed to the Electrical Association for Women (EAW).

The EAW began with three main objectives 

1. To educate women in the uses and benefits of electricity. It did this through activities such as lectures, summer schools for teachers and school visits. It published a journal, the Electrical Age for Women, the first issue of which appeared in June 1926.
2. Educating the male-dominated electrical industry by informing the suppliers of electricity and of electrical and other household equipment what women really needed in their homes
3. To open up opportunities for women to pursue careers in the electrical and allied industries. Electricity as a career for women was scarcely heard of in 1924. A woman who wished to combine a career with running her home had not only to break down the barriers against the employment of women but also to free herself from her “arduous housekeeping chores”.

The EAW grew rapidly and branches were soon established in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester. Often, especially in the early years, the leaders of the local branches were the wives of electrical engineers who served as managers, or in some other capacity with a local electricity supply undertaking.

Advertisement from The Electrical Age, 1939 [MS383/A4000/3/4]

In 1949 there were 100 branches with a combined membership of 10,000 women; ten years later there were over 180 branches. By 1960 the number of branches had more than doubled to 202 and in another five years stood at 246. As late as 1971 there were 262 branches.

Most of the members of the EAW were either wealthy or at least comfortably middle class and the bulk of the membership was made up of housewives, business and professional women and teachers. Less privileged rural and working-class women were never excluded in principle, however. The EAW also targeted the quintessentially modern woman, the “Bachelor Girl”.

Advertisement from The Electrical Age, 1939 [MS383/A4000/3/4]

The EAW pioneered an “electrical housecraft” course which could be taken at most domestic science and technical colleges in the country. From 1931 a Diploma for Demonstrators and Saleswomen was offered and by the 1940s its Electrical Housecraft Certificate and Diploma – on “the application of electricity to household duties” – were recognised qualifications. Housewives and students could study for a “home worker’s certificate”; this covered topics such as electricity generation and transmission; meters, fuses and switches, cookery, refrigeration and kitchen planning.

The Special Collections holds records for the E.A.W. primarily for the 1930s and 1940s in the papers of Gladys, Lady Swaythling who served as both treasurer and president. There is also some material for the 1950s in the papers of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten.

Photograph of Gladys, Lady Swaythling by Hay Wrightson [MS383/A4000/6/1/5/F2]

Lady Swaythling commented on the work of the E.A.W in a speech:

One of the pioneer women’s organisations in their country, whose educational work has, both directly and indirectly, helped to increase the happiness of women in their homes and in their careers. And this, of course, is just what teachers of domestic subjects themselves set out to do…

More than ever before a stabilising influence is needed for our young people, and nothing can better provide this than a comfortable happy home with its sense of permanence and security…

There is a danger that too many labour saving aids, may result in laziness – but it is here the domestic subjects teacher can help to inculcate a right attitude towards home making and encourage the swing back to the home from families who find their pleasures and entertainment outside it.

[MS383/A4000/1/6/10]

As described by Deidre Beddoe, there was an inter-war call to women to come ‘back to home and duty’; the EAW was certainly part of this. Post-1919, the women’s movement splintered into special interest groups and married women were encouraged to make their primary focus their home rather than a job. Their Victorian mothers had visited the poor to fulfil their philanthropic duty; an active role in the EAW could have been the early twentieth century equivalent for some women. Alison Light coined the concept ‘conservative modernity’ and the EAW does appear to be an expression of this period when women and the home were placed at the centre of British life. In her article “Domesticating Modernity” Carroll Pursell suggests that the women of the EAW accepted their social role of domesticity, but strove to transform that role through modern technology.

The EAW continued to flourish after Haslett’s death in 1957. But in the 1970s its membership was aging by the mid-1980s it was no longer attracting new members. It was voluntarily dissolved in 1986.

Celebrating the contribution of women: Lady Swaythling

Today marks International Women’s Day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women throughout history and across nations. The Special Collections at the University of Southampton holds material for a range of women whose contribution in many spheres is worthy of mention. For this blog post we will focus on Gladys Helen Rachel Montagu, Baroness Swaythling (MS 383).

Photograph of Gladys, Dowager Lady Swaythling, taken by Dorothy Wilding [MS 383 A4000/6/1/5 f2]

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1879, she was the eldest daughter of Colonel Albert Edward Williamson Goldsmid, MVO, and Ida Stewart Beauclerk Hendricks. In 1898 she married Louis Montagu, the eldest son of Samuel Montagu, first Baron Swaythling (MS 117), founder of the banking firm Samuel Montagu and Company. Louis succeeded as second Baron Swaythling in 1911 and inherited the office of president of the Federation of Synagogues (MS 248), an organisation created by his father to promote the acculturation of Jewish immigrants.

Following their marriage they lived at Townhill Park House, Southampton, purchased by the first Baron Swaythling in 1897. Originally dating from the 1790s, they had the house extended and re-designed by architect Leonard Rome Guthrie in the Italianate style. Guthrie also designed the terraced gardens to complement the style of the house, with the plants laid out by the renowned garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. As Lord and Lady Swaythling they were leading members of the Anglo-Jewish community and leading figures in English society, hosting dinner parties and other social events at Townhill Park where visitors included Princess Alice and Queen Mary (with whom Lady Swaythling had a lifelong friendship).

Belgian soldiers and staff at Allington Manor [MS 383 A4000/6/1/13 ]

They were also active communal workers, with Lady Swaythling applying much of her energy to the local Southampton area. During the First World War she became President of the Women’s Southampton branches of the Auxiliary of the YMCA and Women’s Emergency Corps, as well as the War Hospital Supply Depot, Southampton. In addition, she served on eighteen different committees, including as chair of the Wounded Allies Relief Committee, established for the provision of convalescent homes for wounded Belgian soldiers.

Country houses were required for medical use as the large numbers of wounded meant there were not enough hospitals able to cope with the seriously disabled or even those simply convalescing. These houses were pressed into service or were donated for the purpose, as their clean country air and fine grounds were considered most helpful to rest and recuperation. Allington Manor, a country house in Eastleigh owned by the Swaythlings, was one of the houses donated as a military sanitorium. Lady Swaythling took a deep interest in the welfare of the sanatorium and would sing to the patients during her visits. Later, she was involved in organising hospitality for American soldiers and sailors, with her efforts leading to her becoming known as the “British godmother” among American naval enlisted men. Other activities included working on the executive committee of Queen Mary’s Governess’ Home in Surrey, and assisting the British Women’s Patriotic League.

Certificate granted to Lady Swaythling in recognition of her
charitable services during the First World War [MS 383 A4000/2/1]

After the war she continued her communal actives, with her roles including President of the Southampton Hostel for Unmarried Women and the Southampton branches of the National Society for Combating Venereal Diseases and the University Extension Lectures movement. She was also chair of the conjoint committee of the British Red Cross and the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In 1919 she joined the Council of the Anglo-Belgian Union and continued to support Belgian exiles during the Second World War. She was an active supporter of refugees throughout her life and, in 1925, addressed a letter to President Coolidge pleading for the admission to the United States of Jewish refugees stranded in Southampton.

Other public offices she held included President of the Electrical Association for Women, established in 1924 to interest women in the electrical development of the country; Honorary President of the Jewish Lads’ Brigade (MS 244), a Jewish youth organisation founded by her father in 1895; President of the Southampton branch of the Girl Guides Association; and Vice-President of the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). She travelled widely, touring countries such as India, Australia, China, Japan, the United States, and Canada, and was the recipient of many overseas honours. She was made OBE in 1953.

Lord and Lady Swaythling had had three sons and a daughter. Their eldest son Stuart became the third Lord Swaythling in 1927 on Louis’ death. The family continued to live at Townhill Park until 1939 when the house was handed over to the Red Cross and used as a convalescent home for British and American soldiers during the Second World war. Lady Swaythling died in 1965 at the age of 85.

This year, Southampton is joining in the International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration theme by ‘Being Bold’ and inviting everyone to West Quay and fringe events in town on Saturday March 11 to promote and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, both locally and worldwide. For further details visit:
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/blog/sussed-news/2017/02/28/celebrate-international-womens-day-on-11-march/