Our speaker at the February meeting was Gaynor Halliday with her talk
about Three Worthy Women of Wakefield.
A singer who sued Pathe, a health worker who tackled Wakefield’s infant
mortality rate and an anti-suffragist politician.
The singer was Phyllis Lett who was heard all over the world. She was one
of seven children and the family arrived in Wakefield around 1886 from
Lincolnshire, where Phyllis was born in 1883. They settled at 6 South Parade
and were an outstanding family but the parents’ death at a young age meant
they did not live to see their children’s success. By 17 Phyllis was pursuing
her musical talents and attended the free open school at the Royal College of
Music in 1903 and only three years later made her debut at the Royal Albert
Hall as a soloist. Her first concert was with Elgar conducting when she sang
his Sea Pictures in 1909.
In 1910 she became a recording artist for Pathe Freres, recording 19 songs
on waxed cylinders; they released 16. At this time she was doing well and living
in London. There were various performances in 1914 and 1915; patriotic
concerts for the War Relief Fund. Fame and fortune continued in 1922 and she
moved to the Hampstead/St John’s Wood area. In 1922 she brought a libel
action against Pathe. They had transferred her song recordings from wax
cylinders to gramophone records but the quality was not good. Elgar said it
was dreadful and not reflective of Phyllis’ voice and as a result, she was losing
income. The case was settled, the three offending records were destroyed and
she continued to work with Elgar. She married Rupert de Burgh Ker MC when
she was 41 and gave a last concert in the Queen’s Hall, London in 1925 before
she moved to Australia with her Australian husband. They had one daughter
and Phyllis passed away in June 1962 aged 79.
The health worker was Marguerite de Flemying Boileau 1875 – 1932.
In 1900 the infant mortality rate in Wakefield had reached 200 per 1000 babies.
The men in charge decided a woman’s touch was needed and they appointed
Marguerite as a lady inspector.
She was born in London in January 1875; both her parents were Irish and her
grandmother had been Matron at Westminster House of Correction. She
matriculated with a BA and a qualification in sanitary inspection from the
University of London in 1894 through private study and tuition.
Her arrival in Wakefield in 1903 was a turning point for the health of babies
and their mothers. Over a two-and-a-half year period she visited mothers in
their own homes and found that although poverty contributed to the mortality
rate she felt the main reason was crass ignorance combined with devoted
affection. Overfeeding was an issue and the diet of some babies was shocking;
most mothers were unprepared for motherhood. She founded Babies Welcome
in 1906.
In 1907 the Wakefield Sanitary Aid Society who had appointed her
approached the Council to see if they could fund her work. They refused to pay
her salary, some thought because of jealousy that she had been so successful,
and the work continued through subscription, led by Anna Louisa Milnes
Gaskell of Lupset Hall. Marguerite left in 1910 and by 1919 they had five health
visitors.
She seems to be a bit of an enigma after that. In 1921 she had changed her
name to Boileau-Lessy and described herself as single; she was principal at St
Ethelred’s School. Mysteriously, despite her single status, she had two
daughters.
The would-be politician was Gwendoline Beaumont 1882-1973. She was
the daughter of F G Howarth of Sandal Grange. Gaynor showed us her
Victorian Lady’s Opinion of the Male Sex; she described them as rabbits, rats,
nincompoops, jugubes and manlets and was scathing in her descriptions. In
1906 she married Gerald Beaumont of Hatfeild House; they set up home in
Altofts and started a family. Gerald served in the KOYLI during the First World
War and Gwendoline moved into Hatfeild Hall with her in-laws. She was antisuffrage
and believed women did not need the vote to get men to do what they
wanted. However, once women got the vote she changed her mind about
suffrage and decided to stand for Parliament. Gwennie was a very busy
woman, founding associations and serving on committees. After Gerald’s
death in 1933 she really focused on politics.
She stood for Rothwell in 1935 but her progressive platform did not go down
well in the staunch Labour constituency with a strong dislike for women
candidates. People weren’t coming out to listen to her, instead judging her on
her appearance; she wasn’t taken seriously. Labour increased their majority.
Gwennie was defeated but not downhearted and continued to be involved in
local societies and councils.
Gaynor ended her talk by telling us a little of her book Struggle and Suffrage
in Wakefield.
Lorraine Simpson, mem 148
