Guest blog by Emily Raynor, University of Leeds

This is the second of a series of blogs written by Liberal Arts students at the University of Leeds to celebrate the EAW’s centenary in 2024. This project has been supported by Professor Graeme Gooday. These blogs on early EAW activities are based on themes that the students selected from reading digitised versions of the first two volumes (1926-1935) of The Electrical Age (for Women). The first blog can be found here.

Introduction

The Electrical Association for Women’s headquarters were located in London, but the EAW also had many branches, scattered around the UK, by the time of its closure in 1986. International branches were also set up over the years, with some of them still being active today. These regional branches were especially important, as they were where the majority of the EAW’s promotional campaigning work took place. But it is difficult to find an in-depth timeline of when said national branches were opened – despite this being an invaluable resource – which is why it is now gathered in this blog post, using information from volume 1 of the EAW’s journal, the Electrical Age for Women.

The beginning

The first established branch of the EAW was the Glasgow branch, which was established in November 1925, with Lady Belhaven and Stenton presiding. Following the branch’s inaugural meeting, 45 members were enrolled, with this number growing to 183 by the time of the publication of the first volume of the Electrical Age for Women journal in June 1926. The next branch to be launched was the Birmingham and Midlands branch, which followed soon after Glasgow, being officially inaugurated in February 1926 and presided over by Lady Brooks – there, membership totalled 65 by June 1926. The final branch to be opened and join the trailblazing Glasgow and Birmingham and Midlands branches was the Manchester District branch, inaugurated in March 1926. The branch’s President was Miss Ellen Wilkinson, the pioneering feminist and Labour MP. (Electrical Age for Women Volume 1.1 pp. 8-10)

The subsequent branches

With the three original branches having set the ball rolling, it was not long before more branches began opening up. The Cheltenham branch followed, established one year after the Glasgow branch in November 1926, with Mrs Marshall being elected as President (vol. 1 no. 3 p. 94). Soon after, the South Wales and Monmouthshire branch was founded in March 1927. Their President Viscountess Rhondda J.P. had been doing revolutionary work for women already – she had been a passionate campaigner for the full enfranchisement of women, and was imprisoned prior to WWI for her involvement in this cause (vol. 1 no. 4 p. 157). In under three months, the branch had reached 100 members. Soon after, in April 1927, the sixth EAW branch was inaugurated in Newcastle-on-Tyne – known as the North East Coast branch. Viscountess Grey of Falloden took office as President that same month (Volume 1 no. 5 p.194).

Following this rapid development, no new branches were launched for nine months – however, in January 1928, two branches opened in the same month. The Ashford and District branch and the Leeds and West Riding branch were both founded at the start of the year, with Mrs Hayward being elected President of the Ashford and District branch. Interestingly, no president was chosen to manage the Leeds and West Riding branch (vol. 1 no. 8 p. 315).

A sudden, rapid rise of branches

By April 1929, the number of EAW branches had almost doubled from its April 1928 total, with a significant number of new ones opening in quick succession, exhibiting the significant growth of the EAW across the nation. Beginning in October 1928, three new branches were introduced in under one month. The North Wales branch was the first of these to be launched on the 5^th October, but it is noted that its inaugural meetings were poorly attended due to the EAW being relatively unknown in the region – this fact, if anything, showed the need for the new branch, since a similar accessible resource for women did not exist in North Wales. In addition, similarly to the Leeds and West Riding branch, no president was elected. The Rugby branch was inaugurated six days later, with Viscountess Feilding serving as President. Finally, October ended with the establishment of the Hampshire branch, with its first meeting held in Southampton. The Dowager Lady Swaythling was elected as President (vol. 1 no. 11 pp. 431-433).

The progress did not stop there, with four new branches following suit in early 1929. Starting the new year on a good note, the Swansea and District branch was inaugurated in January, with Lady Bryn Edwards as its President. The Mid-Gloucestershire branch opened next, in February, and was presided by the Countess of Berkeley – although she was unable to attend the branch’s inaugural meeting. Soon after, still in February, the North Staffordshire branch was established after a successful preliminary meeting a month prior, where significant interest was shown. The branch also did not have an elected president. In March, the Bristol and District Branch was then inaugurated – whilst its President, Lady Augusta Inskip, was unable to be there, around 150 people were in attendance (vol. 1 no. 12 p. 478). It is clear from this period of fast, consecutive growth that the EAW was becoming invaluable.

Late 1929/early 1930s branches

The EAW did not lose momentum, and four more branches were inaugurated in late 1929, bringing the total number of EAW branches to noneteen. This began with the October launch of the East Devon Branch, which elected Mrs Phillips, J.P. as President and enrolled 30 members by the end of its first meeting. In November, the Hartlepools and District, Edinburgh and District, and Plymouth and District branches followed the East Devon Branch’s lead. The Hartlepools and District branch elected Lady Gray as its President, the Edinburgh and District branch selected Viscountess Elibank, and the Plymouth and District branch was presided over by Viscountess Astor MP (vol. 1 no. 15 p. 607). Then, in 1930, the EAW finally reached a total of 21 branches. First, in January, the Bradford and District branch’s President, Lady Watson, opened the branch – and soon after, in February, the Torquay and District branch was inaugurated. This branch, presided over by Mrs Gresham, was linked to the East Devon branch, as the Torquay section of it had become so popular that a separate branch became a necessity (vol. 1 no. 16 p. 648).

EAW branch timeline, November 1925 to February 1930

19^th November 1925 – Glasgow Branch

23^rd February 1926 – Birmingham and Midlands Branch

25^th March 1926 – Manchester District Branch

25^th November 1926 – Cheltenham Branch

24^th March 1927 – South Wales and Monmouthshire Branch

28^th April 1927 – North East Coast Branch

25^th January 1928 – Ashford and District Branch

27^th January 1928 – Leeds and West Riding Branch

5^th October 1928 – North Wales Branch

11^th October 1928 – Rugby Branch

29^th October 1928 – Hampshire Branch

24^th January 1929 – Swansea and District Branch

13^th February 1929 – Mid-Gloucestershire Branch

20^th February 1929 – North Staffordshire Branch

5^th March 1929 – Bristol and District Branch

24^th October 1929 – East Devon Branch

8^th November 1929 – Hartlepool and District Branch

13^th November 1929 – Edinburgh and District Branch

15^th November 1929 – Plymouth and District Branch

30^th January 1930 – Bradford and District Branch

8^th February 1930 – Torquay and District Branch

About the author

My name is Emmy Raynor, and I am studying Liberal Arts at the University of Leeds, majoring in Cultural Studies. I was born in France and lived in Paris for the first half of my life, before moving to London in 2012.

I am inspired by women that, despite having had a significant amount of impact on many facets of society throughout history, have been overlooked – to various degrees – in favour of men. Because of this, I am particularly interested in the lesser-well-known, but incredibly influential women of the E.A.W. who have played a key role in the growth of the electrical industry.