Clara Rackham facts for kids
Clara Dorothea Tabor Rackham (born December 3, 1875 – died March 11, 1966) was an important English woman who worked for many good causes. She was a strong supporter of women's rights, especially the right to vote. She also worked for peace, better education, and helping families. Clara was a leader in the Labour Party and helped many people in Cambridge. She was one of the first women to become a magistrate (a type of judge) and a Poor Law Guardian, which meant she helped people who were struggling. She also worked to make prisons fairer and improve factory conditions for workers.
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Clara's Early Life and Family
Clara Rackham was born in Notting Hill, London. Her family called her Dorothea. Her father, Henry Tabor, was a farmer, and her mother was Emma Woodcock. Clara went to several schools, including Notting Hill High School and Newnham College at Cambridge University. Her older sister, Margaret, also went to Newnham.
At Newnham College (from 1895 to 1898), Clara studied Classics, which is about ancient Greek and Roman culture. But she also loved sports! She was a great long-distance cyclist, swam often in the river Cam, and was captain of the hockey team. She also loved politics and supported the Liberal Party. Even though women couldn't officially graduate from Cambridge University until 1948, Clara did very well in her studies.
At college, she became lifelong friends with Susan Lawrence, who later became one of the first women to be elected to Parliament for the Labour Party. Clara also met her future husband, Harris Rackham, who taught Classics at Newnham College. Harris was the brother of the famous illustrator Arthur Rackham. Clara and Harris got married in 1901. They had a happy marriage until Harris passed away in 1944.
Clara started the Cambridge branch of the Women's Co-operative Guild in 1902 and became its President. This group helped women work together to improve their lives. She also worked closely with her good friend, Leah Manning, who became a Member of Parliament. In the 1930s, Clara supported Leah Manning's efforts to bring children from the Spanish Civil War to safety in Britain. Some of these children found homes in Cambridge.
Fighting for Women's Right to Vote
Clara was deeply affected by the poverty she saw while working as a Poor Law Guardian (1904–1915). This job involved helping people who were very poor. Her experiences made her believe strongly that women needed the right to vote to change things for the better.
She joined the Cambridge Women's Suffrage Association, which was part of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). This group believed in peaceful ways to get women the vote. Its president was the well-known suffragist, Millicent Fawcett.
Clara was an excellent organizer. She gave powerful speeches and traveled to nearby villages to gather support for women's suffrage. She even faced a very unfriendly crowd in Newmarket! Clara became part of the national leadership of the NUWSS.
In 1913, Cambridge sent many suffragists to the 'Great Pilgrimage'. This was a peaceful march where people walked from all over the country to Hyde Park in London. Clara joined the march in Burwell and gave an inspiring speech in Cambridge before the group continued to Royston. In London, Clara sat on the stage next to Millicent Fawcett.
During World War I, Clara helped guide the NUWSS through a difficult time. Many members disagreed about supporting the war. Clara found a way for the group to support women's war work while still allowing individual members to work for peace. This helped keep the organization from falling apart. After women over 30 gained the right to vote in 1918, the NUWSS changed its name to the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship. Clara edited a legal column for their journal, The Women's Leader, from 1923 to 1931.
Working as a Factory Inspector
During World War I, Clara became a factory inspector for the government. She was one of only four women given this important temporary job in 1915. Her work involved checking conditions in factories, first in Lancashire and then in London. This job was so important that she had to turn down an offer to teach at Bedford College.
Clara was a strong supporter of workers' rights throughout her life. She even wrote a book called Factory Law in 1938. She was one of the first people to suggest a 40-hour work week.
A Labour Party Politician in Cambridge
After World War I, Clara joined the Labour Party. She held many elected positions in Cambridge. She was elected as a councillor for West Chesterton (1919–1922) and later for Romsey, a working-class area of the city. She was elected without opposition to represent Romsey for the last time in 1946.
Clara worked hard to improve living conditions for working-class families in Cambridge. She pushed for the building of an indoor heated swimming pool, which is still used today. She also helped open the Rock Road Public Library and helped fund the Labour Club on Mill Road. Ramsay MacDonald, who became the first Labour Party Prime Minister, laid the foundation stone for the Labour Club in 1926.
Magistrate and Prison Reformer
In 1920, Clara became a magistrate, making her one of the first women in Cambridge to serve in this role. She became very concerned about how the justice system treated young people. She believed the law was often too harsh.
Clara joined the Howard League for Penal Reform in 1925. This group works to make prisons and the justice system fairer. She also helped start the Magistrates' Association in 1927. She supported probation, which allows people to stay out of prison under supervision, and was against corporal punishment (physical punishment). In 1933, she argued that no young person under the age of 17 should be sent to prison. At that time, the age limit was 14. She stopped being a magistrate in 1950 when her hearing made it difficult to continue.
Pioneering Broadcaster
Clara was one of the first women to speak on BBC radio in the 1920s. She gave talks about her work as a magistrate and explained legal matters to the public.
Focus on Education
Clara was the chairman of the Cambridge County Council Education Committee from 1945 to 1957. She cared deeply about education for girls, nursery education (for very young children), and early years education. She also campaigned for free school milk and meals to help children who didn't have enough to eat.
She was a friend of Henry Morris, who had a new idea for schools called 'village colleges'. These colleges combined secondary education with community and adult education. Clara strongly supported setting up these colleges in villages around Cambridge. She also had a lifelong interest in educating working people and taught for the Workers Educational Association.
Working for Peace
Like many who had fought for women's rights, Clara hoped for peace through the League of Nations between the two World Wars. Later, during the Cold War, when people worried about nuclear war, Clara joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in 1958. This group called for Britain to get rid of its nuclear weapons to encourage other countries to do the same. Her great-niece remembers Clara taking her on the annual CND march from Aldermaston to London. Clara took part in her last peace march in 1961 when she was 85 years old.
Later Years and Legacy
In her later years, Clara was a well-known figure in Cambridge. She rode her bicycle everywhere, did lots of volunteer work, and enjoyed meeting people. Even when she started losing her hearing, she kept her good humor and read aloud to people who couldn't see well.
Clara passed away peacefully in 1966 at the age of 90. Many friends and people from over twenty local groups she had supported came to her 90th birthday celebration. A tribute written about her said that anyone who studies social improvements in Cambridge would see how much they owed to Mrs. Rackham's dedication to helping those who were less fortunate. Her goal was to give them a better life, and her success is her lasting memory.
In 1944, Clara gave the Central Library in Cambridge a special collection of books illustrated by Arthur Rackham, her brother-in-law. A street in Cambridge, Rackham Close, is named after her. In 2018, Clara Rackham and Leah Manning were chosen by a women's local government group as pioneers whose lives inspired younger generations to serve their communities.
A special event celebrating Clara Rackham's life took place in 2018 at Anglia Ruskin University. A blue plaque, which is a special sign, was put up at her old home at 9 Park Terrace in 2019 to remember her important contributions. Also, one of the community rooms in the re-opened Milton Road Library is named after Clara Rackham.
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