Katharine Marjory Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, DBE (6 November 1874 – 21 October 1960), born Katharine Marjory Ramsay and known as the Marchioness of Tullibardine from 1899 to 1917, was a British noblewoman and Unionist politician.
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She was born in Edinburgh on 6 November 1874, the daughter of Sir James Henry Ramsay, 10th Baronet. She was educated at Wimbledon High School and the Royal College of Music. During her school years she was known as Kitty Ramsay.[1] On 20 July 1899, she married John Stewart-Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine, who succeeded his father as the 8th Duke of Atholl in 1917, whereupon Katharine became known as the Duchess of Atholl.
She was active in Scottish social service and local government and in 1912 served on the hugely influential "Highlands and Islands Medical Service Committee" (Dewar Report) that has been widely credited with creating the forerunner of the NHS. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1918. She was the Scottish Unionist Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Kinross and West Perthshire from 1923 to 1938, and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education from 1924 to 1929, the first woman to serve in a Conservative government. She resigned the Conservative whip first in 1935 over the India Bill and the "socialist tendency" of the government's domestic policy. Resuming the Whip she resigned it again in 1937 over the Anglo-Italian Agreement. Finally she resigned her seat in parliament in 1938 in opposition to Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement of Adolf Hitler. To permit her resignation (technically proscribed by law), she was named Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds on 28 November 1938. She stood in the subsequent by-election as an Independent but lost her seat.
She argued that she actively opposed totalitarian regimes and practices. In 1931 she published The Conscription of a People - a protest against the abuse of rights in the Soviet Union. According to her autobiography Working Partnership (1958) it was at the prompting of Ellen Wilkinson that in April 1937 she, Eleanor Rathbone, and Wilkinson, went to Spain to observe the effects of the Spanish Civil War. In Valencia , Barcelona and Madrid she saw the impact of Luftwaffe bombing on behalf of the Nationalists, visited prisoners of war held by the Republicans and considered the impact of the conflict on women and children in particular. Her book Searchlight on Spain resulted from this involvement, and her support for the Republican side in the conflict led to her being nicknamed by some the 'Red Duchess'. However, Cowling cites her as saying that she supported the Republican government because "a government [Franco's] which used Moors could not be a national government". Her opposition to the British policy of non-intervention in Spain epitomised her attitudes and actions.
She campaigned against the Soviet control of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary as the chairman of the British League for European Freedom from 1945. In 1958 she published a biography of her life with her husband entitled Working Partnership.[1].
She was also a Vice-President of the Girls' Public Day School Trust from 1924-1960.
She was also a keen composer, composing music to accompany the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson.
She was closely involved in her husband's Regiment the Scottish Horse and composed their march "The Scottish Horse" which was designed to be played on the bagpipes.
When her husband died in 1942 she took over the appointed of Honorary Colonel [2] a position she retained until 1952[3].
Records relating to Atholl can be found at[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Gardiner |
Member of Parliament for Kinross & West Perthshire 1923 – 1938 |
Succeeded by William McNair Snadden |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Hon Col His Grace 8th Duke of Atholl |
Honorary Colonel of the Scottish Horse May 1942-May 1952 |
Succeeded by Colonel RA Bartram MC TD DL |