The photographs in this week’s trip down West Fife’s Memory Lane look at some famous women from the area.
On International Women’s Day, Friday, March 8, there will be a lecture by Councillor Linda Erskine in the Canmore Room in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries entitled ‘Life in the Public Eye’ and Linda will mention her experiences in the miners strike in 1984 during her talk.
Our first photograph shows the daughter of a miner, from Lochgelly, Jennie Lee, who rose to become a major figure in the political world, marrying the Labour politician Nye Bevan, who founded the National Health Service.
Jennie Lee was educated at Beath High School and was dux of the school in her final year. The Carnegie Trust, Fife County Council and the Fife Education Authority agreed to pay her university fees and she attended the University of Edinburgh as a student teacher.
After graduating she worked as a teacher in Cowdenbeath. She later entered politics as a Labour Member of Parliament from a by-election in 1929 until 1931 and then from 1945 to 1970.
As Minister for the Arts in Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour government of 1964–1970, she founded the Open University, working directly with Wilson to establish the principle of open access, with her thinking being: “Enrolment as a student of the University should be open to everyone, irrespective of educational qualifications, and no formal entrance requirement should be imposed."
Our next photograph is of the suffragette Anna Munro. Although born in Glasgow, Anna moved to Dunfermline in 1892 following her mother’s death.
She joined the Women's Social and Political Union and founded a branch in Dunfermline in 1906. She was briefly imprisoned in 1908 for her protesting, and participated in the protests around the 1911 Census, which the suffragettes boycotted.
Our next photograph is of Amelia Robertson Hill, the sculptress who created the famous statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries.
The explorer David Livingstone sat for her, and she produced the statue of him that can be seen on entering Princes Street Gardens from Waverley Station just before the Scott Monument.
Amelia was the only female contributor to the statues on the Scott Monument.
Amelia was born in Dunfermline in Wooers Alley, the daughter of Joseph Neil Paton, with two brothers who also forged artistic careers, Joseph Noel Paton who was Queen Victoria’s painter, and Waller Paton a prolific watercolourist.
Our final photograph is of Dunfermline singer Barabara Dickson, described by ‘The Scotsman’ as "Scotland’s best selling female singer in terms of the number of hit chart singles and albums she has achieved in the UK since 1976". Barbara is also a two-time Olivier Award winning actress,
Tickets for the lecture by Linda Erskine ‘Life in the Public Eye’ on Friday, March 8, at 11am are available priced £5 in DCLG as well as online at onfife.com.
More photographs like these can be seen in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries as well as at facebook.com/olddunfermline.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here