Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading
| The Most Honourable The Marchioness of Reading GBE | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the Women's Voluntary Service | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1894 |
| Died | 22 May 1971 (Aged 77) |
| Spouse(s) | Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading |
Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, Baroness Swanborough, GBE (6 January 1894 - 22 May 1971), née Stella Charnaud, was an English aristocrat and philanthropist. She was the founder and chairman of the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), now known as Royal Voluntary Service.
Biography
Early life
Stella Charnaud was born on 6 January 1894 in Constantinople, Greece. Her father was a member of the British Foreign Service. She was educated in Europe.
Career
She joined the staff of the Viceregal Lodge in Delhi, India, where she served as secretary to the wife of the new Viceroy, Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, whom she married after he was widowed.
Philanthropy
Back in England, she became increasingly active in voluntary social work and with the Personal Service League, created to serve the needy and unemployed. She became chairman of the League, and then a Magistrate. During this time Lord Reading served as HM Ambassador in Washington, D.C. and was frequently accompanied by his wife on his diplomatic missions. Upon his death in 1935, Lady Reading devoted herself to fostering Anglo-American co-operation.
Before the start of World War II, Home Secretary Samuel Hoare sent for Lady Reading and requested that she establish an organization that would assist the government's wartime efforts. What Lady Reading founded became the Women’s Voluntary Service for Air Raid Precautions Services, later referred to simply as the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS). The WVS organized millions of women, most of them housewives, to provide clothing for soldiers and their families. Lady Reading traveled extensively on behalf of the WVS, encouraging women to contribute their services in a time of need and British citizens to support their efforts. As the war progressed, the WVS, funded by the government and local authorities, trained volunteers to cope with war-time emergencies, and the organization evacuated, fed, clothed and re-housed civilians who suffered from enemy air raids.
She was an early supporter of the University of Sussex and bequeathed her private residence, Swanborough Manor, to be used as the residence of the Vice-Chancellor for fifty years after her death, until 2021.[1] However, due to financial strain, the university sold the manor to a private citizen in 2003.[1]
Public Recognition
She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1941,[2] and promoted to Dame Grand Cross (GBE) in 1944.[3] On 22 September 1958, she was created a Life Peer in her own right, becoming Baroness Swanborough, of Swanborough, in the County of Sussex,[4] and was the first woman to take her seat in the House of Lords.[1][5][6]
Personal life
She was married to Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935) from 1930 to his death in 1935.[1] She resided in Swanborough Manor in Iford, East Sussex.[1] She died on 22 May 1971.[1]
Arms
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 James Trollope, The manor of its going, The Daily Telegraph, 15 March 2003
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35029. p. 12. 1 January 1941.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36544. p. 2586. 8 June 1944.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 41505. p. 5835. 23 September 1958.
- ↑ http://www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/parliament-explained/women-in-politics/
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/stella_reading.shtml