May Sinclair Society

Welcome news indeed - The May Sinclair Society launches today - 31st July 2013!

If you have been following my weblog, you will know that May Sinclair was the first poet on my ever-growing list of female poets who wrote during the First World War.  May was born in Rock Ferry, on The Wirral Peninsular where I was brought up and educated.   May was among the first women to go to Belgium in 1914 to nurse so she knew first-hand what was going on.  A photograph of May is featured on the flyer for the Exhibition of Female War Poets at the Wilfred Owen Story, 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Wirral.

Rebecca Bowler sent me this information about the Society:

"The Society’s website is being launched on Wednesday the 31^st of July, and features a biography of Sinclair, and an article about her infamous ‘stream of consciousness’ review of Pilgrimage. More articles will be added over the coming months. We want to make information about May Sinclair available to anyone with internet access: not just scholars with library subscriptions to academic journals. At the same time, we want to encourage academics who are working on Sinclair to come together, network, and pool resources. We are launching a Facebook page simultaneously, and we’re going to host a day conference in Sheffield next summer (2014). There are a lot of people worldwide who are working on Sinclair, and we want to bring them together!"

Please have a look at the website www.maysinclairsociety.com

There is also a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/maysinclairsociety

Canadian WW1 Poetry

Steve Cloutier sent me this information about Canadian WW1 poetry:

 "Joel Baetz edited an anthology published by Oxford University Press: "Canadian Poetry from World War I" and Elizabeth Russell Miller edited "Arms and the Newfoundlander: Poetry of the Great War".

Thank you Steve - that is brilliant.

and thank you to Professor Cribari from Minnesota who is very supportive of the project.

A German poet who nursed during WW1

I enlisted the help of Penelope Monkhouse who lives in Germany hoping to find some German poets who were nurses during WW1 and she suggested Henriette Herdenberg.

Henriette Hardenberg (1894 - 1993) was the pen name of Margarete Rosenberg, a German-born Expressionist Poet, who nursed in a Berlin hospital during WW1.

As you know, during the course of my research, I have been taking note of the names of British, American and Australian women poets who were also nurses during WW1, so I am now widening my search.

As always, if you know of anyone I have not found so far, please let me know.

My grateful thanks to Penelope Monkhouse. for her kind help and support.

And thank you to Emma van Bijnen from Holland for her continuing support - all the best for your project Emma.

News of May Sinclair in "Wirral News"

Dean Johnson kindly sent me this cutting from the "Wirral News" of 24th July 2013.

When Dean first asked me to produce an exhibition of Female Poets of the First World War for his lovely museum in Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Wirral - The Wilfred Owen Story - I began by looking to see if there were any Wirral poets and discovered to my joy that May Sinclair was born in Rock Ferry.

May's contribution is extremely important in my view because, not only was she among the first women to travel to France in 1914 in order to nurse the wounded, she was also a well known and respected author by that time.

I have been fortunate enough to be in touch with some of the world's experts on May Sinclair, especially Suzanne Raitt, Professor of English at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, America, who put me in touch with Rebecca Bowler, Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield.   As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Rebecca is about to launch The May Sinclair Society.  

Thank you to Dean Johnson for asking me to produce the Exhibition and for putting it on show at The Wilfred Owen Story  - where it is available to view during 2013 - and setting me on this fascinating journey

Thank you to Suzanne Raitt for her encouragement of my project

Thank you to Rebecca Bowler for her enthusiastic support of my project

The Isaac Rosenberg Statue Appeal

I just had to share this with you - Clive Bettington, who is organising the appeal to raise funds for a statue to the memory of the poet Isaac Rosenberg, has been extremely supportive of the Female Poets of the First World War project and this is my way of saying "Thank you, Clive".

Jean Moorcroft Wilson describes Isaac Rosenberg as 'one of the finest and most distinctive poets of the First World War'.

The leaflet (see left) goes on to explain "Isaac Rosenberg (1890 - 1918), the son of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants, grew up and went to school in London.  He left school at the age of 14 (as so many people did in those days to help with their family's  expenses) to go out to work.

Isaac was extremely talented and was able to enrol at Birkbeck College (1907 - 1911), where fees were reasonable and whose standards were and still are very high.   He studied hard, did very well, winning several prizes and painted his first self-portrait, which is now on display at Tate Britain.

Rosenberg was then able to win a place at the famous Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he studied from 1911 - 1914.   When war broke out, Rosenberg was staying with his sister in Cape Town. He enlisted in the British Army and was killed near Arras on 1st April 1918.

The Sculptor chosen for the project, is Etienne Millner - see his work on www.etiennemillner.com -
and it is Millner's sketch of the proposed statue that you can see on the front cover of the brochure.

For further information, please contact c.bettington@jeecs.org.uk and/or check out the Appeal website www.jeecs.org.uk/rosenberg.html

"I lay this reverent wreath upon his tomb" - Siegfried Sassoon.

Sydney Fowler Wright

I would like to thank Gus Fowler Wright - Sydney Fowler Wright's grandson for his help and guidance regarding his Grandfather.

Sydney Fowler Wright was himself a very accomplished poet.  He founded the Empire Poetry League and encouraged others to write poetry, travelling around gathering poems and then publishing them.  

I first discovered Sydney when I was looking for Merseyside poets.   The Birkenhead Reference Library have a copy of his "Merseyside Poets" book and allowed me to look at it - for which I am extremely grateful.   The legacy of Sydney Fowler Wright is very precious and I do not think he receives sufficient acclaim.

I cannot do justice at the moment to the amazing achievements of Sydney Fowler Wright because I am preparing for the exhibition at the Ace Centre in Nelson, Lancashire which starts on 15th August 2013 but I will definitely come back to him as soon as possible.

However, in the meantime, do look at the website http://www.sfw.org/about.shtml which will give you lots more information.

Thank you very much Gus.

Launch of May Sinclair Society

News has just come in from Rebecca Bowler of Sheffield that the May Sinclair Society will be launched on 31st July 2013 so I hope to bring you further information once that is up and running.
(maysinclairsociety@sheffield.ac.uk)

Thank you to Gillian Clarke the Welsh poet, writer, playwright, broadcaster, translator for her kind reply to my enquiry about poets who wrote in Welsh.

Grateful thanks too to Beverly McKiernan of the Ace Centre in Nelson - where the next Exhibition of Female Poets of the First World War is to be held in August 2013.

I have been looking for poems written about Female Aviators and Munition Workers for the exhibition and finding some very interesting facts along the way.

Another thank you - this time to Gus Fowler Wright.  I will try to do justice to your very kind help Gus in another post.    Gus is the grandson of S. Fowler Wright who went round the British Isles finding poetry and publishing volumes such as The Merseyside Poets of 1923.   Mr Fowler Wright did a great deal of work in that field and he was himself a very accomplished poet and author.

'Patriotic Poems, Popular Verse' and Self Publication

I have mentioned Elizabeth A. Marsland's excellent book before: "The Nation's Cause  French, English and German Poetry of the First World War'.  That book was first published in 1991 and has been re-issued now under the banner "Routledge Revivals" - further details www.routledge.com

On page 90 is a reference to 'patriotic poems' being printed and published 'as broadsheets' copied and reprinted from magazines and newspapers.

In particular the exploit of Elsie Mewis is cited.  Elsie raised a huge amount of money for Belgian Refugees and Military Charities through selling a copy of a poem she wrote and had printed.  A poet and an inspirational women - but there were many of those!

Anyway, the point is that gave me an idea.  I am often being asked to suggest publishers and there are many of note who do publish anthologies of poetry.  However, if you keep receiving rejection notices, my advice is to publish your work yourself.

This is the age of the Internet and Kindle and there is plenty of advice available on how to 'self publish'.  

And you could perhaps link up with and donate a few pence per copy to one of the amazing military charities there are now - e.g. Hounds for Heroes, Soldiers off the Streets, the Royal British Legion, The Army Benevolent Fund, The Royal Air Force Association, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes - I haven't found a Royal Navy charity yet but am every hopeful - to name but a few.

Just a thought.  Just do it!

Something a little different - 2013 Pendle War Poetry Competition

In a slight departure from the subject of the First World War, I thought I would tell you about the Pendle War Poetry Competition.

I know from experience how hard it is to gain recognition for one's poems, nevertheless I keep on with my own work when the Female Poets of the First World War allow me. . .

Last year's competition drew entries from around the world.  

Poems do not have to be about 'war' but they do need to be about some sort of conflict.  For instance among last year's entries was an amazing poem about the poaching of animals in Africa and another about domestic violence.

Open to all.

For details see www.pendlewarpoetry.com

"Out in the Dark"

Today, I have been looking at two more books which I have found excellent and inspirational:

"Out in the Dark Poetry of the First World War in context and with basic notes" Edited by David Roberts and published by Saxon Books, Burgess Hill, Sussex, first printed in 1998, 6th Reprint 2006

and

"Voices of Silence  The Alternative Book of First World War Poetry" by Vivien Noakes, published by Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2006.

I should also like to thank our long-suffering and very patient printer - MARK BOOTH.  Mark, without your help this project would not work!   Thank you very much.

Austria, Germany and Switzerland

I have just received a wonderful, informative e-mail from Penelope Monkhouse in Germany.

Penelope has given me the following list of poets which is fantastic and is just what I have been searching for.

I list the poets here and will add them to the Revised List shortly.   Thank you very much Penelope.

I am doing my best to prepare panels to send to the printers for the Exhibition at the Ace Centre on 15th August 2013 but have to admit that other interesting facts sometimes distract me.  It is good to have some variety though.

Austria:

Paula LUDWIG (1900-1974)

Germany:

Lou ALBERT-LAZARD (1885-1969)  mainly an artist, but wrote a little poetry

Emmy BALL-HENNINGS (1885-1948)  married the DADA-poet Hugo Ball

Maria BENEMANN (1887-1980)

Trude BERNHARD (??)

Frida BETTINGEN (1865-1924)

Claire GOLL (1890 - 1977) à married the Franco-German poet Yvan Goll. They both wrote in German and French.

Henriette HARDENBERG (pseudonym of Margarete Rosenberg) (1894-1893)

Ricarda Octavia HUCH (1864 – 1947)  mainly a prose writer but also some poetry

Eleonore KALKOWSKA (1883-1937) (was half-Polish and wrote in both German and Polish)

Berta LASK (1978-1967)

Lola LANDAU (1892-1990)

Mechthilde LICHNOWSKY (1879-1958)

Elsabeth MEINHARD (??)

Else LASKER-SCHULER (1869-1945)

Hilde STIELER-MEYER (1879-1965)

Nell WALDEN (1887 – 1975)

Switzerland:

Francisa Stöcklin (1894-1931)

Welsh Poets - among others . . .

A huge thank you to Rob Phillips from the National Library of Wales Welsh Library On-line Site who sent me details of their on-going project:

"Our project is a mass digitisation project funded by JISC and the Welsh Government and which includes Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff University, Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity St David, People's Collection Wales, the Archives and Records Council Wales, BBC Cymru Wales and the National Library of Wales. We aim to digitise over 200,000 pages of newspapers, magazine, manuscripts, archives and photographs along with 500 minutes of audio and audio visual content related to the experience of the people of Wales during the First World War."

Thank you Rob - definitely one to watch.

While we are on the subject of Welsh Poets, I should also like to thank Gwyn Parry for his efforts on my behalf.

I have also read with great enjoyment the book "Out of the fire of hell  Welsh experiences of the Great War 1914 - 1918 in poetry and prose" by Alan Llwyd which is extremely inspirational.

"The Nation's Cause French, English and German Poetry of the First World War" by Elizabeth A. Marsland

I managed to purchase a copy of this fantastic book.   This is the first time I have found a book about WW1 poetry that includes languages other than English. I am looking forward to reading this very much.  First published in 1991 by Routledge, Abingdon, Oxford, my copy is a "Routledge Revival", published in 2011. In the Preface to the reissue, Routledge explain:  ""The Nation's Cause" was, and remains, an unusual study ... because the book attempts to explain how poetry can legitimately serve as evidence of historical attitudes, its reissuing in time for the centennial of August 1914 seems appropriate."  Brilliant initiative Routledge!

Incidentally, when I approach people for information on poets, I am often directed to Catherine Reilly's "Scars upon my Heart", Nosheen Khan's "Women's Poetry of the First World War" and Margaret R. Higonnet's "Lines of Fire Women Writers of World War 1".   These are in fact the very first books I consulted when I  began to research in April 2012 for the Exhibition "Female Poets of the First World War". That exhibition is still on show at The Wilfred Owen Story at 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 6AE.

Since then I have moved on and, among other languages, I am also looking for poems in Welsh, Irish and Scottish.  As I was unable to find translations for some of the poems I found (e.g. Portuguese, German and French), I thought it would be great to include the other languages of the British Isles.

As always if you have any ideas, please get in touch.

Acknowledgements:

I should like to thank Richard S. Fogarty of the Department of History at the University of Albany SUNY in New York and Santanu Das, South Asia, for contacting me and for their advice, which I am following up.

I also had a reply from Birmingham Library which is in the process of moving and will re-open in September.

THANK YOU ALL.

Welsh Poets and others . . .

I am very grateful to Ian Glen, Arts and Humanities Librarian at Swansea University, who replied speedily to my query about Welsh Women Poets sent to the website askcymru@llgc.org.uk    Mr Glen suggested, among other things, that I consult 'the freely available Welsh Journals Online website http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/ may be of use, as it contains the full text of many journals published in Wales.'   This website is extremely interesting and useful.

One of the (several!) books I am currently reading about the First World War is "The Forgotten Front The East African Campaign" by Ross Anderson (Tempus Publishing Ltd., Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2004) and this has widened my search.

I seek WW1 women poets (and/or Inspirational Women) from:

Luxembourg

Siam (now Thailand)

Kenya,

Uganda

The Congo

Ruanda

Burundi

Tanzania

Zambia

Malawi

Mozambique

Nigeria

The West Indies

Palestine

Egypt

The poems do not have to be about the War and the poets do not have to have been famous but they do have to have been able to write poems during the 1914 - 1918 period.

For example, with the kind assistance of the Archivist at Downe House School in Berkshire, I discovered some very good poems written by girls who were at the school during WW1.

As always, if you know of any countries and or poets I have left out, please get in touch.

Lucy

Two more poets - these ones also fought!

Spurred on by the statement in Nicholas Murray's book about the soldier poets of WW1 that 'women did not fight', I began to look for women who indeed did fight during the First World War because I knew of at least one - Flora Sandes from Suffolk.   Alas Flora did not (to my knowledge) write poetry, which is why I started a sub-section of this project "Inspirational Women of World War One".

As I was researching yesterday for some of the women who fought, I found reference to the fact that at least two of them - from Russia - were poets:

"Mrs Koudasheva, a woman of culture and refinement, a poet, a writer, a musician and, above all, a lover of sport, who enlisted as a volunteer when the war broke out".  That report was written by some American women journalists who interviewed the 'women who went to fight for the Czar' and is to be found in the archives of the Reading Eagle, an American newspaper, published on 13th January 1916.

The report goes on to describe Mrs Koudasheva's bravery and rise through the ranks.

Now 'all' I have to do is find poetry by Mrs Koudasheva!

The second Russian woman poet/soldier is called Skridlova and I have yet to find out anything about her.

Onwards!

Female Poets of the First World War Exhibition at the Wilfred Owen Story in Argyle Street, Birkenhead - 2013

In April 2012, I volunteered to help out 'behind the scenes' at The Wilfred Owen Story which is a museum to the memory of the poet in Birkenhead's Argyle Street.   Why did I volunteer?  I had seen a performance of Dean Johnson's "Bullets and Daffodils" at the North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood, where Wilfred Owen was based at the Gunnery School in November 1916 before going to France.

I was so impressed with what I saw and, because I went to school just around the corner from the Birkenhead Institute where Wilfred Owen was educated, I stopped to chat to the cast.   I learnt that they are presenting this amazing drama on a shoestring and they were looking for people to help.  When I heard where the museum was situated, I had to smile - I was in Argyle House at school.

About a year ago, Dean asked me to produce an exhibition for the museum on the theme of women who wrote poetry during the First World War so I began by looking for a poet who was Wirral-born.  I discovered that May Sinclair, one of the most important women writers of the era, was been born in Rock Ferry.  My research snowballed as I read more and discovered there were many women who wrote poetry at that time, many of whom have been forgotten.

I received a very nice e-mail from Janet Holmes yesterday (13th July 2013).   Janet is an artist and a potter.  She is also the Stage Manager of "Bullets and Daffodils".  This is what she wrote"

"I was in the Wilfred Owen Story yesterday and some people were commenting on your display of the Female War Poets... 

They were very taken with the stories of the women, they also loved the way the pieces had been printed and presented. They thought the layout would make a wonderful book. Something that they would like to own. I told them all about you and what your plans are. 

The visitors the the Wilfred Owen Story do find your exhibition fascinating and many comment that they had no idea about the role so many women had in the war and the poetry."

Janet runs The Rathbone Studio at 28 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 6AE.  Website:   http://www.rathbonestudio.com.  Janet is also Stage Manager of the wonderful drama about Wilfred Owen - "Bullet and Daffodils" - written by Dean Johnson, Wirral singer/songwriter who also oversees the running of the museum to the memory of Wilfred Owen - The Wilfred Owen Story, 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 6AE.  Website:  http://www.wilfredowenstory.com   This is staffed by volunteers and depends entirely on donations.

See also "Bullet and Daffodils", the world's first musical drama about the life and works of the poet Wilfred Owen who was killed in France just one week before the Armistice. The company have recently returned from London where they had a very successful week's run.  Website:  http://www.wilfredowenstory.com/bulletsanddaffs.html

Women in World War One

If you have been following this weblog, you will know that I began this as a tribute to the many women who did their bit in the Great War and because I felt there were more than enough books to commemorate male war poets.

I spent some time in our local library today, reading a book recommended by Michael Shankland of The Wilfred Owen Association Facebook Group - "The Red Sweet Wine of Youth  The Brave and Brief Lives of the War Poets' by Nicholas Murray (Little Brown, London, 2010).

Whilst the book is undoubtedly fascinating, in the final paragraph Mr Murray explains that he has not included any women poets because women did not fight during the First World War.  Hm.

Granted not many women fought but there were quite a few who did, as you will see if you look at the WW1 Buffs site on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222213017840753.58272.162842593777796&type=3

I did not find any mention on WW1 Buffs of Flora Sandes, a clergyman's daughter from Suffolk in England, who fought (and was wounded) for Serbia on the Eastern Front during WW1 - but then I have not had time to look at every single picture posted on this excellent commemorative Facebook page.

And what of the nurses who went to serve in Field Hospitals near the theatres of war? Though they may not have had rifles, they were frequently under fire and many died.   "Elsie and Mairie go to War Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front" by Diane Atkinson (Preface Publishing, London 2009) is one book that describes the hair-raising adventures of these two women who stayed to nurse the wounded of both sides for the duration of the War.

Women like Flora Sandes and Elsie and Mairie were the inspiration behind the subsection "Inspirational Women of World War One" which allows me to include one or two panels in my poetry exhibition that are not dedicated to poets - without, I trust, causing too much offence...  
 
Whether any of these women were moved to write poetry I have not yet been able to ascertain but there were several female poets who nursed near the Fronts - Vera Brittain is the most famous of these but there were others.

That attitude is exactly why I am researching women who wrote poetry during the First World War.  Having been researching almost daily now for just over a year, I am aware that finding every women who wrote poetry at that time may not be practical or possible.   Still - there is time over the coming years.  I find new information daily and Mother told me her Father did not return from the War until early in 1920.

I should like to thank Jackie Jones, Information Assistant at Mandelez Europe Services GmbH - UK Branch for her fantastic information regarding Elsie Mewis who I recently discovered.  Elsie worked at the Cadbury's Chocolate Factory in Bourneville from 1908 until 1943 and she wrote poetry.   Now all I have to do is find examples of Elsie's poems.

Onwards!

 

Thank you

Grateful thanks to Lizzie MacGregor of the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh for all the information about Scottish women poets.

I shall process this and adjust my list.  I really appreciate all the help and advice that I am receiving - it means such a lot to me.

And thank you to the website The Emory Women Writers Resource Project - full of useful information.

Bryher

During the course of my on-going research I read many books.  As I was reading Vivien Noakes excellent "Voices of Silence The Alternative Book of First World War Poetry" (Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2006), I discovered something interesting and began to hunt for more information.

That led to the discovery of another poet of the WW1 era I have never heard of  - "Bryher".

Born in Margate, Annie Winifred Ellerman (1894 - 1983) was the daughter of a shipowner who was at that time the wealthiest man in Britain. Annie chose the pen name of Bryher during a visit to the Scilly Isles in her youth.

I have found several more poets to add to my list and will produce another up-dated list within the next few weeks to include them all.

I hope by then to have found a few more countries to add as well.

Best wishes to you all.

Lucy

Revised list of poets July 2013

FEMALE POETS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Here is the latest list – July 2013.  I find new poets and interesting information every day.  As always if you know of any poets I have left out, please get in touch.  I am particularly keen to find poets from Luxembourg, Thailand and from African countries but all poets of the era are welcome.   

Someone asked if I was only including 'professional' poets.  Definitely not - as far as I am concerned you do not have to be a 'published' poet to write poetry.   Do have a look at what Dr. Olson said in his review of George Bruce's anthology further down the blog.   I agree with Bruce about poetry - this was not always the case but the past year has led to amazing discoveries and helped me to change my mind. 

Thank you all for your loyalty.

As my research has progressed, it has become very clear that there were far more women who wrote poetry during the 1914 - 1918 period than the few mentioned in many of the anthologies compiled so far.   I feel strongly that their voices deserve to be heard.

REVISED LIST JULY 2013

BRITAIN

Margot Robert ADAMSON (1898 - ) Scottish  ?

Georgette AGNEW ?

Marian ALLEN (1892 – 1953) b. Australia

Jessie Annie ANDERSON (b. 1861 – Scottish ?

Lilian M. ANDERSON (1866 – 1946) Scottish ?

Marion ANGUS (1866 - 1946) - Scottish

Lady ASHMORE - Scottish

Edith BAGNOLD (27th October 1889 - 31st March 1981) (Nurse then driver in France)

Rachel BATES (Wirral)

Dorothy Julie BAYNES ?

Mary BEAZLEY ?

Madeline Ida BEDFORD – Munitions poem

Janet BEGBIE ?

Maud Anna BELL (Serbian Relief Fund) (1861 – 1947) ?

Frances BELLERBY (1899 – 1975) -

Stella BENSON (1892 - 1933)

Matilda BETHAM-EDWARDS (1836 – 1919)

Nora BOMFORD

Lilian BOWES LYON (1895 - 1949)

Mary Elizabeth BOYLE (brother killed opening days of the War)

Catherine BRIDSON (Wirral)

Beatrix BRICE MILLER 

Sybil BRISTOWE (brother killed early 1917)

Vera BRITTAIN (1896 - 1970) (Nurse - VAD - Brother killed Italy)

Judith BRUNDRETT-TWESDALE
BRYHER - pen name

Alice Mary BUCKTON (1867 - 1944) (Emigrated to South Africa)

C.A.L.T.

May WEDDERBURN-CANNAN (1893 - 1973) (VAD + Intelligence Service; engaged to Bevil Quiller-Couch)

Elizabeth CHANDLER FORMAN

Mary G. CHERRY

Mary  CHOLMONDELEY (niece of Stella Benson) (8.6.1859 – 15.07.1925) (worked as a clerk in Carlton House Terrace Hospital)

Agatha CHRISTIE (nee Miller) (1890 – 1976 VAD Torquay)

Isabel C. CLARKE (born Plymouth)

Alice E. COLLINGE (1869 – 1960)

Mary Gabrielle COLLINS

Frances CORNFORD (1886 – 1960)

Margaret CROPPER

Nancy CUNARD (1896 - 1965)

Elizabeth DARYUSH (Daughter of Robert Bridges) (1887 - 1977)

Helena DEREZINSKA (Lancashire)

Helen DIRCKS

Eva DOBELL (1867 - 1963) (Niece of poet Sydney Dobell) (Nurse)

Sarah DOUDNEY (1841 - 1926)

Agnes E. DREY (Lancashire)

Helen Parry EDEN (1885 -

Agnes FALCONER

Eleanor FARJEON (London; 1881 - 1965)

V. Helen FRIEDLAENDER

Lilian GARD

Alexandra Ethelreda GRANTHAM (eldest son killed WW1)

Nora GRIFFITHS

I. GRINDLEY (Queen Mary's Army Auxilliary Corps)

Diana GURNEY

Dorothy Frances GURNEY (1858 – 1932)

Cicely HAMILTON

Helen HAMILTON

Isabel WESTCOTT HARPER

Ada May HARRISON

Agnes CROZIER HERBERTSON

May HERSHEL-CLARKE

Ethel M. HEWITT

Constance HOLLAR

Winifred HOLTBY (Nursed in France)

Theresa HOOLEY

Violet HUNT

Isobel W. HUTCHISON

Mildred HUXLEY

Catherine M. JACKSON (Wirral)

Violet JACOB ( d. 1947 - Born Violet Kennedy-Erskine in Scotland m. Major Arthur Jacob of 20th Hussars)

Storm JAMESON

Elinor JENKINS (1893 - 1920)

Edith A. KAHIA (Lancashire)

Anna GORDON KEOWN

Annie L. KNOWLES (Lancashire)

Margery LAWRENCE

Winifred M. LETTS (1882 - 1972)

Olive E. LINDS

Mina LOY (1882 -

Geraldine E. LYSTER (Lancashire)

Irene Rutherford McLEOD

Dame Rose MACAULAY (1881 - 1958) (Descendent of Lord Macaulay)

Helen MACKAY (1891 - 1965)

Nina MACDONALD

Miss Isobel MARCHBANK

Nina MARDEL (VAD)

Alice MAUD

Charlotte MEW

Alice MEYNELL (1847 - 1922)

Olga MILLER (nee KATZIN) (1896 -

Sophie MILLER

Frances Evelyn MILLETT

Miss G.M. MITCHELL

Naomi MITCHISON - Scottish
Lady Gertrude MOBERLEY (1860 -

Edith NESBIT (1858 - 1924) (m. BLAND)

Eileen NEWTON

The Honourable Eleanour NORTON (1881 - )

Moira O'NEILL (1864 - 1955)

Carola OMAN (1897 - 1978) Nurse with Red + Western Front 1916 - 1919 m. Sir Geralde Lenanton

Florence OVERTON (Lancashire)

Elsie May PATERSON CRANMER (1893 - 

Margaret PETERSON (1883 – 1933) Pen name:  Glint Green)

Ruth PITTER (7 November 1897 - 29 February 1992) (Worked at the War Office 1915 - 1917

Jessie POPE (18.3.1868 - 14.12.1941 - b, Leicester m. Babington Lenton

Dame Margaret POSTGATE COLE (1893 - 1980)

Irene R. POTTER

Mary PRALL

Marjorie PRATT

Louise PRIOR

Inez QUILTER (aged 11)

Dollie RADFORD (nee Maitland) (1858 – 1920)

Elsie S. RAE - Scottish

Dorothy Una RATCLIFFE (1887 - 1967 b. Yorkshire)

Constance Ada RENSHAW (Sheffield. 1891 - 1964)

Dorothy RICHARDSON (b. Abingdon 17th May 1873 - d. Beckenham 17th June 1957. m. Alan Odle 1917)

Ursula ROBERTS (1887 - 1975) (b. India; educated Highgate and London University) Pen name Susan MILES)

Margaret E. ROWNTREE (nee Fish m. 1926) (Born Fleetwood 1899 - 1983)

Lady Margaret SACKVILLE (1881 - 1963)

Vita SACKVILLE-WEST (1892 - 1962)

Dorothy L. SAYERS (1893 – 1957)

Ethel SCHEFFAUER

Lady Aimee BYNG SCOTT (1868 - 1953)

Edith HOPE-SCOTT (Lancashire)

Fredegond SHOVE (nee MAITLAND) (1889 – 1949)

May SINCLAIR (born Rock Ferry, Wirral 1865 - 1946) Nurse in France 1914

Edith SITWELL (born Scarborough 1887 - 1964)

Cicely FOX SMITH (Born Lymm, Cheshire; educated Manchester)

Stevie SMITH (1902 - 1971) "Not waving but drowning"

Freya STARK (1893 - 1993)

Dorothy Margaret STEWART

Suzanne STONE

Marie Carmichael STOPES (1880 - 1954) (First female science lecturer at Manchester University)

Muriel STUART (  - 1967) (Founded P.E.N. Club in 1921)

Millicent SUTHERLAND ((1867 - 1955)(Milicent Gower, Duchess of Sutherland) (Nurse in France. Painted by Victor Tardieu)

Mary SYMON (1863 – 1938)

Emily HOWSON TAYLOR (1879 -

Gwen TAYLOR 

Rachel Annand TAYLOR (1876 - 1960)

Ruth TAYLOR 

Joan THOMPSON (With the Red Cross to France)

Aelfrida TILLYARD (1883 - 

Iris TREE (1897 - 1968) (Bloomsbury Group - friend of Nancy Cunard)

Alys FANE TROTTER (1863 - 1962) lived in South Africa during 1890s

Ada TYRELL

Evelyn UNDERHILL   (worked with SSAFA and Naval Intelligence)

Viviane VERNE

Alberta VICKRIDGE (b. Bradford, Educated Bradford Girls' Grammar. VAD nurse)

Annie VIVANTI CHARTRES (1866 – 1942)

Sylvia TOWNSEND WARNER (1893 -  1978) Worked in Munitions Factory WW1

Mary WEBB (1881 - 1927 b. Leighton, nr. Wrekin, Shropshire; educated Southport)

Mary Morison WEBSTER

M. Winifred WEDGWOOD (VAD)

Dorothy WELLESLEY (1889 - 1956) 

Catherine DURNING WHETHAM (Devon)

Lucy WHITMELL

Anna WICKHAM (1884 - 1947)

Carolyn Crosby WILSON

Marjorie WILSON

Margaret L. WOODS (1856 -

Elizabeth WORDSWORTH (1840 - 1932)

AMERICA

Zoe AKINS (1886 - 1958)

Margaret Steele ANDERSON (1867 - 1921)


Karle Wilson BAKER (1878 - 1960)

Djuna BARNES (1892 - 1982)

Natalie Clifford BARNEY (1876 - 1972; lived in Paris for over 60 years)

Pauline BARRINGTON (1876 - 

Katharine Lee BATES (12.081859 - 28.03.1929: "America the Beautiful")

Louise BOGAN (1897 - 1970)

Mary BORDEN (lived in England.  Mobile hospital in France)

Amelia Josephine BURR (1878 - 1968)

Nancy CAMPBELL

Grace ELLERHY CHANNING (1862 - 1937; France and Italy as a War Correspondent)

Florence Earle COATES (1850 - 1927)

Helen Gray CONE (1859 - 1934)

Grace Hazard CONKLING (1878 - 1958)

Adelaide CRAPSEY

Charlotte Holmes CRAWFORD

Olive TILFORD DARGAN

Mary Carolyn DAVIES

Hilda Dolittle or H.D. (

Vita DUTTON-SCUDDER (1861 - 1954)


Gabrielle ELLIOTT (American Fund for French Wounded; Nursing Committee for the Council of National Defence)

S. Gertrude FORD

Lena GILBERT BROWN FORD


Theodosia GARRISON

Charlotte Perkins GILMAN (1860 - 1935)

Louise Imogen GUINEY (1861 - 1920)

Mary M.J. HENDERSON (Lived in UK. Went to Russia and Serbia with Elsa Inglis)

Alice Corbin HENDERSON (1881 - 1949)

Katherine HOWARD


Amy LOWELL (1874 - 1925)


Florence RIPLEY MASTIN

Moina BELLE MICHAEL (The Poppy Lady)

Ruth Comfort MITCHELL

Edna St. Vincent MILLAY

Harriet MONROE

Marianne MOORE (1887 - 1972)

Aline MURRAY (1888 - 1941)


Grace Fallow NORTON (1876 - 1926)

Dorothy PARKER

Mary PIERCY

Lizette WOODWORTH REESE (1856 - 1935)

Edith Grenstead ROCHESTER

Edith RUTTER-LEATHAM


Vida Dutton SCUDDER (1861 - 1954)

Gertrude STEIN

Charlotte PERKINS STETSON


Sarah TEASDALE

Lesbia THANET

Edith M. THOMAS (1854 - 1925)

Rose Hartwick THORPE (1850 - 1939)

Marie van VORST (Organised American Ambulance Corps; set up workshops in Rome)

Grace O. VANAMEE (1876 - 1946)


Mrs G.O. WARREN

Edith WHARTON (1862 - 1937) (Paris WW1 - nursed)

Ella WHEELER WILCOX (1850 - 1919) (To the Western Front in 1918)

Margaret WIDDAMER

Margaret ADELAIDE WILSON

AUSTRIA

*Ingeborg BACHMANN (1926 - 1973)
Vicky BAUM (1888 - 1960)
Paula LUDWIG (1900 - 1974)

* Although she is not relevant to the period, Ingeborg is her by kind permission and suggestion of Mike Lyons, who translated some of Ingeborg's poems.  Mike very kindly sent me a copy of his book.

AUSTRO-HUNGARIA

Rose Auslander (11.05.1901 – 03.01.1988)

AUSTRALIA

Emily BULCOCK (1877 - 1969)

Ada CAMBRIDGE A.C. (1844 - 1926)

Violet B. CRAMER

Zora CROSS (1890 - 1964)

Edith May ENGLAND (1899 - 1979)

Nellie EVANS (1883 - 1944)

May Hannay FOOT (1846 - 1918)

Mary Elizabeth FULLERTON (1868 - 1946)

Dame Mary GILMORE (1965 - 1962)

Lesbia HARFORD (1891 - 1927)

Winsome JENNINGS

Alice GORE JONES (1887 - 1961)

Marion KNOWLES

Dorothea McKELLAR

Agnes ROSE-SOLEY

Ethel TURNER (1870 - 1958) - born Doncaster, England)

Elizabeth von AMIN (1866 - 1941)

BELGIUM

Marie NIZET (1859 - 1922)

Alice NAHON (1896 - 1938)

BRAZIL

Cora CORALINA (20 August 1889 – 10 April 1985)

Cecilia MEIRELES (7.11.1901 – 9.11.1964)

Adaligsa NERY (29.10.1905 – 7.6.1980)

CANADA

Jean BLEWETT (1872 - 1934)

Helene Jane COLEMAN (1860 - 1953)

Marie JOUSSAYE (1864 - 1949)

Susan Frances HARRISON (1859 - 1935)

Norah M. HOLLAND (1876 - 1925) - Mother related to W.B. Yeats

Isabel MACKAY (Isabel Ecclestone - 1875 - 1928)

Lucy Maud MONTGOMERY (1874 - 1942)

Marjorie L.C. PICKTHALL (1883 - 1922)

CHILE

Gabriela MISTRAL (1889 - 1957 - pen name of Lucila Godoy Alcayaga)

CHINA

Bing Xin

FRANCE

Adrienne BLANC-PERIDIER (1884 - 1965)
Henriette CHARASON (1884 - 1972)

Marie DAUGUET (1860 - 1942)

Lise DEHARME (1898? - 1980)

Lucie DELARUE-MARDRUS (1874 - 1945- nurse in WW1)

Marguerite DURAND (Editor of La Fronde)

Rosemonde GERARD (1886 - 1953)

Miriam HARRY (Maria Rosette SHAPIRA)

Gerard d'HOUVILLE (Nom de plume - 1875 - 1963)

Amelie MURAT (1882 - 1940)

Anna de NOAILLES (1876 - 1933)

Louisa PAULIN (1888 - 1944)
Valentine PENROSE (nee BOUE) (1898 - 1978)

Cecile PERIN (1877 - 1959)
Henriette SAURET

Cecile SAUVAGE (1883 - 1927)

Colette YVER (

GERMANY

Lou ALBERT-LAZARD (1885 - 1969) artist and poet

Anna BAHR-HILDENBERG ?
Emmy BALL-HENNINGS (1885 - 1948) m. DADA poet Hugo Ball
Maria BENEMANN (1887 - 1980)
Trude BERNHARD (??)
Frida BETTINGEN (1865 - 1924)

Isla FRANKE (1881 - 1938)

Claire GOLL (1890 - 1977)
Henriette HARDENBERG (1894 - 1993)
Ricarda Octavia HUCH (1883 - 1937)

Elizabeth LANGASSER (1899 - 1950)

Berta LASK (1878 - 1967)
Lola LANDAU (1892 - 1990)
Mechtilde LICHNOWSKY (1879 - 1958)

Thekla LINGEN

Lya MARA
Elisabeth MEINHARD ??

Elizabeth PAULSEN

Else LASKER SCHULER (1869 - 1965)
Hilde STIELER-MEYER (1879 - 1965)
Nell WALDEN (1887 - 1975) 

HOLLAND

Agnita FEIS

Henriette ROLAND HOLST (1869 - 1952)

Augusta PEAUX (1859 - 1944)

Giza RITSCHL (1869 - 1942)

Nine van der SCHAAF (1882 - 1973)

Margo SHARTEN-ANTINK

Helene SWARTH (1859 - 1941)

Jacqueline van der WAALS (1868 - 1922)

INDIA

Sarojini NAIDU (1879 - 1949)

Nalini Bala DEVI (1898 - 19770

IRELAND

Eva GORE BOOTH

Kathleen KNOX

May O'ROURKE (Became Secretary to Thomas Hardy in 1923)

Dora SIGERSON SHORTER (1866 - 1918)

Katharine TYNAN (1861 - 1931)

Helen WADDELL

ITALY

Ada NEGRI (1870 – 1945)

Amalia GUGLIELMINETTI (1881 – 1941)

JAPAN

Akiko YOSANO (1878 - 1942)

NEWFOUNDLAND

Georgiana COOPER

Rose M. GREENE

P. Florence MILLER

Marie E. WAY

NEW ZEALAND

Mary Ursula BETHELL (1874 - 19450

Eileen DUGGAN (1894 - 1972)

Katherine MANSFIELD (1888 - 1923)

POLAND

Maria PAWLIKOWSKA-JASNORZEWSKA (24.11.1891 Krakow – 09.07 1945 Manchester)

PORTUGAL

Fernanda de CASTRO

Florbela ESPANCA

Marta MESQUITA DE CAMARA

Virginia VITORINO

ROMANIAN

Stilia CAZIMIR (1894 - 1967)
Maria CUNTAN ?
Elena FARAGO (1878 - 1954)
Natalia NEGRU (1862 - 1962)
Izabela SADOVEANU-EVAN (24.02.1870 – 06.08.1941)

Elena VACARESCU (21.9.1864 Bucharest – 17.02.1947 Paris)

RUSSIA

Anna AKHMATOVA (1889 -1966 from the Ukraine)

Marina TSVETAEVA

SERBIA

Jelena Spiridonovie Savic (1890 – 974)

SOUTH AFRICAN

Edith L.M. KING (1871 - 1962)

SWEDEN

Elsa BESKOW (1874 – 1953)


SWITZERLAND

Francisa STOCKLIN (1894 - 1931)


"LOST SHEEP"

Emily ORR
Muriel Elsie GRAHAM