Thursday 21 June 2007

Launch pad!

Hi! Everyone

I hope that anyone interested in women's history here in Kent will get in touch. I was fed up always hearing about smugglers, sailors and soldiers. What about the women who lived here too? I am just about to publish my first book about women's suffrage in East Kent 1909 - 1918 but already have ideas for several more books. My favourite period is 1880 -1920 but I'm sure there are other interesting stories out there.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was in the Army (whoops soldiers !) I served at Detmold in 1969. One of the civilian employees of the Army was "Ellie" (I think her surname was Neiderkohner).

She had married an American in the 30s but was trapped in wartime Germany after returning there to care for her mother.

Because of her knowledge of colloquial English (and American) she was roped in as an interpreter for the Nazis.

In 1945 as the Allied Armies closed in she was involved with plans to get as many of the women in Berlin to the sector the British would take.

The British Army. Not bad eh ?

Best of luck with your site

Millicent said...

I am very interested in this story as another of long-term projects is a history of women in Berlin which I have divided up into four time periods.

Thanks!

DavidR90 said...

You have probably already sourced the same material as me but I put up a piece on Emmaline & Christabel Pankhurst's visits to Thanet in 1910 on my Theatre Royal Archive blog. Contact me if you need any more info.

David

Millicent said...

Thanks david - I passed on something to Michael W-W about a year ago. I got mine from the local papers.

DavidR90 said...

Ah, that's where it came from, MWW passed it onto me for my files. I've also got a copy of the 29 April 1910 Thanet Times report about the meeting at the Theatre Royal, I assume you've got it, if not let me know, I'll scan it for you.
D

Anonymous said...

All I can remember about Ellie is that she was something to do with a Music Academy in the Detmold area 1920s and 30s. At that time she was a great admirer of Hitler who, according to her, had come to the area and personally executed a rapist.

By the time we knew Ellie she was retired and working part time at our Regimental club. (1969). She fed the wild birds everyday and the birds seemed to gather in anticipation of her arrival.

She went on a holiday to London and some of the lads had persuaded her that UK slot machines worked on German coins (they did and it saved a fortune. Ellie got caught and was photoed with two massive Met coppers who saw the funny side of it and told her not always to trust what British squaddies told her ! The odd thing about the London photo was that all around were sparrows (like the cockney sparrows sussed this was a wild bird feeding type person ?)

Not all things are explainable.

Best wishes

Annette Fulford said...

I am interested in the many young women from Kent that married Canadian soldiers during and after WWI and came to Canada to live.