Page 5 - HGS Suburb News 143 - Summer 2020

Youth

CELEBRA TING W OMEN

Girl Power! A letter to Henrietta Barnett:

s a teenage girl fast approaching womanhood, it is
A particularly eye-opening for me to reflect back on just a woman ahead of her time
how much the lives of women have changed since VE
day, almost exactly 75 years ago. Wgoing to be extended in 1899, near then hardly surprising that you founded
hen the London Underground was the National Union of Women Workers. It’s
VE day was the day when the allies of World War II
celebrated Nazi Germany’s surrender. Street parties your weekend home by Spaniard’s Inn in the Henrietta Barnett School, providing
were held, bonfires were lit, and there was not a preserving the natural, peaceful ambiance
Hampstead, you immediately set about education for girls of all backgrounds,
street in sight where the merry sounds of dancing even during a time where fewer than 1% of
and singing could not be heard. But it was not of the Suburb. You envisioned something women and girls went to university. Did you
only the brave young soldiers fighting on the ahead of its time – just over 100 years later, imagine the school you built would go on
battlefront who we are to owe this victory to. we live in an era of ‘eco’ and ‘green’ to educate more than three generations?
Women had about as much a part in the our planet.
campaigns as we struggle to coexist with That your picture still hangs in the Main
victory of World War II as men! Even though you were told you were “just Hall, observing the girls below?
Prior to the second world war, women Your legacy isn’t limited to the Suburb –
mostly held domestic, household roles. a woman” by Eton College who owned the you received a well-deserved DBE (Dame
land that would later become the
Commander of the Order of the British
Rosie the Riveter Their job was to keep the home tidy and Hampstead Garden Suburb, you persevered. Empire) for your work – the results of your
functioning well, so that their husbands would be pleased when they came home from You campaigned, fundraised, and formed
work. Don’t you hate it when your parents tell you to clean your room? Well, try imagining a company that would eventually buy that passage of time.
philanthropy remain relevant even with the
a life when you’re expected to clean every room of the house… every day! And it was not land. It’s a lesson we can all take with us:
just older women who were expected to carry out these household duties: young girls don’t give up and one day you will succeed. We have privileges that define the
were also required to help their mothers dust and tidy and fold, since less emphasis was When you met Octavia Hill, a pioneer buildings packed onto dirty tarmac, and
Suburb: no shrill school bells, no cramped
placed on their education – that was reserved for boys (unless you belonged to the female architect, a seed of an idea was the Heath Extension which protects us
working classes). While many girls did attend primary school, few at that time continued planted for the Garden Suburb. But you’d from the noisy, greyish concrete that is
through to secondary education and it was relatively rare for girls to go on to university. always been in love with nature and
Cambridge University did not accept girls until 1948! tranquillity. Your brainchild – the Hampstead London. Your lifetime’s work has given us a
However, with thousands of men away serving in the armed forces, the role of girls Garden Suburb – was inspired by the likes of gift that will last generations.
and young women during World War II began to change. From 1941, women were called the Garden City movement and Bournville ISABELLE H
up to be mechanics, engineers, and fire engine drivers. By mid-1943, almost 90 percent Village. Now it houses 13,000 residents. But
of single women and 80 percent of married women were working in factories, on the what’s worth even more is the close-knit
land or in the armed forces. The idea that women would be able to take up these jobs community that was built and has grown.
would have been deemed impossible before World War II. What’s more, there were over Your tireless campaign protected the
640,000 women in the armed forces, both in the navy and air force. Even Princess Garden Suburb as we know it today. It’s you
Elizabeth worked as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) at the age of 19, we have to thank for the Hampstead Garden
and was promoted to Junior Commander! Suburb Act (1906); protecting our tree-lined
There was also a ‘secret army’ (known as the SOE), of around 60 women who were
roads and recreation grounds or open spaces
dropped from planes into Germany to prepare the way for the Allied invasion. One of “for the common use of the inhabitants of
the most famous SOE members was Vera Leigh. Although she was eventually captured any dwellings in the Garden Suburb.”
and murdered by the Nazis, the remarkable bravery she demonstrated still lives on today. Even though you were daughter of a
To summarise, it was not only men who contributed to Britain’s victory 75 years ago,
wealthy businessman, born in Clapham,
but also women. Women who, because of how heroically they united together, showed you soon became intent on activism after
the men they were capable of so much more than was previously believed. Perhaps it is you went to school aged 16. Inspired by its
partly thanks to their actions that I can stand here today, as a pupil of the Henrietta ability to encourage minds that could think,
Barnett School, with so many opportunities in my path. It is with a warm feeling in my you dedicated your life to helping others:
heart that I embrace the future ahead of me as a strong, independent female, inspired founding the London Pupil Teachers
to show the world what the term ‘Girl Power!’ really means. Association, working with Homes for
ALLIE G Workhouse Girls, and as Vice President of Henrietta Barnett

Can a naked lady ever be a feminist icon?

rowing up, I always loved driving past Henlys Corner noun in French). Interestingly, ‘La Délivrance’ holds a sword, Become part of
G and spotting ‘the naked lady’, as I called it. Now, though, even though women were not allowed to fight, perhaps the community
I am beginning to wonder about the implications of how because she represents the whole of the nation. In this case, I If you’d like to join the Suburb community, please complete and
women are represented in this iconic piece of public art… find it a compelling and empowering image. return the form below or join online at hgsra.uk. Our Privacy Policy
‘The Naked Lady’ is not her name, and neither is ‘Dirty Upon seeing a statue of a naked woman, it is easy to can be viewed at hgsra.uk/about/dataprotection.html.
Gertie’ as some people call her. The statue at Henlys Corner write it off as degrading and objectifying to us today, however
is a First World War memorial, created in 1914 by Émile Oscar this is to grossly over-simplify the work of art. Though it is not MEMBERSHIP FORM
Guillaume and originally named ‘La Victoire’, in honour of lost on me that ‘La Délivrance’ is by a man, it is important to One subscription covers everyone at the address for a calender year
the First Battle of the Marne, when the German army was try and find value in his representation of women; as beautiful I/We would like to join the HGS Residents Association.
defeated before capturing Paris. At some point her name beacons of hope and success. Regardless of Guillaume’s
was changed to ‘La Délivrance’ and she was given to Finchley intentions, ‘the Naked Lady’ is an eye-catching representation Name
Council in 1927; the then Prime Minister, David Lloyd George of strength in the form of a My brother Lonnie with Address
held the unveiling ceremony to a crowd of 8,000. nude female body, which is The Naked Lady Postcode
‘La Délivrance’ depicts a nude woman holding a sword especially welcome as too
and reaching towards the sky in celebration. often women are overlooked Email
She has 11 sisters (all smaller than our 4.9m) that were and cast as the weaker sex. Phone
given to French and Belgian cities that were occupied by the Women today can still be Subscription amount (Minimum payment £15) ....£
Germans. In 1919, a copy in Lille was taken down as the empowered by the statue
Fellowship donation* (Optional) ...................................£
nudity proved too controversial. It was bought by the city of ‘La Délivrance’ by choosing (To support Fellowship, a Suburb charity, in its work for Suburb senior citizens)
Nantes and vandalised there too before being finally to view it as a symbol of Total ..................................................................................................£
restored and reinstated in 2018. As a point of interest, Emile female power. * I declare by making this donation that I want to Gift Aid my donations to
Guillaume was a pacifist who used his sculptures to promote These are our bodies Fellowship House and am a UK taxpayer paying sufficient tax to meet the Gift
his idea. A generous way to view this statue is that Guillaume being represented, and the Aid on my donation. I agree to Fellowship receiving my details for this purpose.
is simply representing victory and freedom as the French do only wrong way to interpret (Delete the above declaration if you do not wish to Gift Aid your donation or do
- as feminine nouns. Nudity has long represented liberation in these sculptures is as not pay sufficient tax)
art, whatever the subject’s gender. However, one could also images of women for men I wish to pay:
interpret ‘the Naked Lady’ as yet another example of to enjoy, when instead we
by cheque (payable to HGS Residents Association). Please write
women’s bodies being objectified and designed to be should take these monuments your address on the back of the cheque and send with this form to
beautiful to the male gaze, which is more problematic. In a as proof of the power of the address below.
world so enamoured by the female body, it begs the question: women. We can represent
why is having one still a hindrance? There is little information freedom, liberation, and online via PayPal or with Credit or Debit Card – visit hgsra.uk/join
available about Émile Oscar Guillaume’s intentions or his strength, with or without our by bank transfer to HGS Residents Association:
Bank: HSBC, 897 Finchley Road, NW11 7NX Sort Code: 40-03-11
other work, so ‘La Délivrance’ is open to interpretation and I clothes on. Account number: 91605747
choose to view it as a symbol for France (also a feminine ROSA B
Please return this form to: The Membership Secretary, HGS Residents
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