Ethel Gooch (née Banham;[1] 12 December 1887[2]–6 February 1953)[3] was a British teacher and politician.[4] She was the first woman councillor of the town of Wymondham, Norfolk, and the first woman to chair its urban district council.[5] On her death, she was called "one of the pioneers of the Labour movement in rural Norfolk".[6]
Ethel Gooch | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ethel Banham 12 December 1887 |
| Died | 6 February 1953 (aged 65) |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher and politician |
| Known for | Being Wymondham's first woman councillor |
| Movement | Labour movement |
| Spouse | Edwin Gooch (married 1914) |
| Children | Michael Edwin Gooch (born 1923) |
Life
editEthel Banham was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire,[7] into a Primitive Methodist family.[1] She was the daughter of Charles Dawson Banham, a gasworks manager.[4] On 26 December 1914, she married Labour politician and trade unionist, Edwin George Gooch, at the Primitive Methodist chapel in Wymondham.[4] They had one son, Michael Edwin Gooch, born in 1923.[4][8]
In 1918, Edwin Gooch helped to found the South Norfolk Labour Party in Church Street, Wymondham.[4] Both he and Ethel were active in the Labour Party, as well as serving as Justices of the Peace.[9][1][10]
Ethel became Wymondham Council's first woman member in 1935, and its first woman chairman in 1951.[9] She was also a member of the Minister's Central Housing Advisory Committee and the Rural Housing Committee, as well as being an alderman of Norfolk County Council.[11][12] Alun Howkins, author of Edwin Gooch's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, described Ethel as "a formidable and important figure in the history of Norfolk Labour politics".[4]
Death and legacy
editEthel Gooch died in Wymondham on 6 February 1953.[6] The Daily Herald described her as "one of the pioneers of the Labour movement in rural Norfolk".[6] A street in Wymondham, Ethel Gooch Road, was later named for her.[9]
In 2013, the Wymondham Heritage Museum staged an exhibition about Ethel Gooch.[13] In 2017, Gooch was remembered with a historical tour around Wymondham's town centre.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Gooch, Edwin George (1889-1964)". My Primitive Methodists. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "1939 Register". FindMyPast. 1939. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019". FindMyPast. 1953. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f "Gooch, Edwin George (1889–1964), politician and trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/46448. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ a b "Wymondham town tour honours public life pioneer Ethel Gooch". Eastern Daily Press. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ a b c "MP's Wife Dies—She Was a Labour Pioneer". Daily Herald. 10 February 1953. p. 7.
- ^ "1921 Census Of England & Wales". FindMyPast. 1921. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ Debrett's distinguished people of today. Internet Archive. London : Debrett's Peerage. 1990. ISBN 978-1-870520-03-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c "What's in a Photo? On Strike". Wymondham Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ Edwards, George (1922). From crow-scaring to Westminster; an autobiography. Foreword by Lord Ailwyn of Honingham; introd. by W.R. Smith. Robarts - University of Toronto. London Labour Pub. Co.
- ^ The Land Worker. Land Worker Publishing Company. 1954.
- ^ Groves, Reginald (1981). Sharpen the sickle : the history of the Farm Workers' Union. Internet Archive. London : Merlin Press. ISBN 978-0-85036-284-8.
- ^ "Norfolk museum that came close to closure reopens for summer season". Eastern Daily Press. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2024-05-25.