Showing 43 results

Authority record
GB 1534 NA1 · Corporate body · 1920 -

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) is a civilian branch of the British Army that was created in 1920 by merging the Expeditionary Force Canteens (EFC) and the Navy and Army Canteen Board (NACB) to run the recreational premises required by the armed forces, and to sell goods to serviceman and their families. It grew exponentially at the outbreak of WW2, and afterwards expanded to include hotels and holiday camps for military families. King George VI granted his patronage in 1946, and Queen Elizabeth II did the same in 1952. It was also a large-scale distribution operation up until the 1990s, running tea factories, bottling plants, bakeries, abattoirs and butchers. Today, it continues to support the British Army both at home and abroad.

GB 1534 SU1 · Corporate body · c. 1890 - 1980

The Socialist Sunday School was an educational organisation created in Glasgow in the 1890s in order to teach children and young people the ideals and principals of socialism. Though associated with political stances instead of a religious one, the Schools adhered to a "religion of love’" perspective, pushing for equality and peace, and giving the younger generation the tools they needed to help bring the ideals of socialism to fruition. Children attended meetings, recorded minutes, were taught through literature, music and art, and were encouraged to form their own opinions, ask questions, and become active, conscientious people. Furthermore, the organisation was committed to women’s equality. Girls were treated equally in schools and the movement recognised a less stereotypical role for women. Women activists and equality campaigns were frequently referencedin the Sunday School’s magazine ‘Young Socialist’, and those who attended the School attribute its practice in equality to have informed their views on gender relations. The schools were renamed ‘The Socialist Fellowship’ in 1965, but due to a lack of adult support, the last traces of the movement were extinguished in 1980.

GB 1534 SWL1 · Corporate body · c. 1970 - 1980

The St Andrews Women’s Liberation Group was a feminist activist group active from the 1960s – 1980s that tackled issues related to lesbians, parenthood, finances, education, abortion, abuse, assault, politics, society, and women’s independence. The first official meeting was on the 5th November 1970. Newsletters were circulated discussing various views of feminism, the difference between “radical” and “socialist” feminism, and published articles further exploring the best way to campaign for women’s equality in Scotland. Furthermore, national conferences were held with other Women’s Liberation Groups in order to help define the feminist agenda, and, on a personal level, consciousness raising groups were held for women to meet and discuss their feelings and desires.

GB 1534 WEC1 · Corporate body · 1996-2002

The Wellpark Enterprise Centre (1996-2002) was a women’s’ enterprise centre based in the east end of Glasgow that sought to encourage women to engage in enterprise. It provided a range of resources, including 590sqm of subletting space, ICT services, as well as running projects designed to support potential, nascent and existing women-led businesses. From 2001 onwards, due to reliance on grants from funding partners and [little in the way of active monetary returns], it experienced financial difficulties, eventuality resulting in the liquidation of the company board, and a hand-over of the company and its remaining assets to Glasgow City Council on 1st June 2002.

Women Live Scotland
GB 1534 WL · Corporate body · 1981-1987

Women Live was started in Edinburgh in the autumn of 1981 inspired by the work of Women in Entertainment, which was based in London. The aim of Women Live was to encourage women’s work in the arts and media in Scotland and to explore and campaign around issues such as stereotyping and distortion of women’s experience in the media and the status of women in society at large.

The 1982 festival was their first event. It was financed by the Scottish Arts Council and through sponsorship and membership fees of the initial 100 women who joined Women Live. It was a great success, with nearly three shows per day at the Netherbow Theatre (the centre of the festival) for the whole of the festival, along with other exhibitions and events. The following year in 1983, the festival was equally successful with shows all over Edinburgh. Women Live also participated in the Women's Health Fair in 1983 which coincided with the last weekend of the Women Live festival. Throughout this time regular meetings and events took place, with newsletters keeping members informed of the group’s activities. Due to lack of funding a festival was not planned for 1984. However, there were several events throughout the year. In 1985, thanks to Edinburgh District Council, Women Live were able to stage another festival known as the Spring Fling. This festival was not as long, just over a week, and was also mostly based at the Pleasance theatre as opposed to various venues.

GB 1543 WCR1 · Corporate body · 1989-1996

Following the end of the United Nations decade on women in 1985, a working party exploring the position of women in church was set up in Scotland. On 19 March 1988 an open meeting was held at which Sister Mary Kilpatrick, Secretary Justice and Peace Commission and Mary Shanahan, a Roman Catholic and experienced educational worker, spoke. A year later in 1989, with financial support from the Falkland Community Trust, the Women's Church Resource Group's centre was launched at 15d Hill Street, Glasgow. Co-ordinated by Mary Shanahan and supported by a group of about thirty women, including Pat MacEachan, Honor Hania, Betty Campbell, Kathie Walsh and Barnie Pugh, the WCRG's aim was to support and develop the understanding of the role of women in church and society through training, study, employment and support. On 16 May, 1996 the last steering group meeting was held and two years later the papers, books and resources of the group were donated to Glasgow Women's Library.

GB1534 BM1 · Person · c.1920s-2010s

Barbara Robertson MacKinnon was born on the Isle of Skye. Her first language was Gaelic. She trained at the Royal Infirmary in Greenock in 1943 and worked there until 1947. She then worked at the Bellshill Maternity Hospital from October 1948 to November 1949. She was a district nurse from January 1953 to May 1953 and then became a Staff Nurse at the Infirmary in Greenock from October 1947 to October 1948. After this, she worked at a number of hospitals and as a district nurse in several areas in Scotland, including hospitals in Inverness, Moray and Nairn, John Martin Hospital on the Isle of Skye, Argyll and Bute, Dr Grays Hopsital in Moray, and the Orkney Islands. She finished her career by working at the Nursing Offices in Orkney until 1981.

Josephine Butler Society
JBS1 · Corporate body · 1962 - present

The Josephine Butler Society, originally known as the Ladies National Association (LNA), was founded by Josephine Butler (1828 – 1906), and was created in order to oppose the Contagious Disease Acts of 1864, 1866 and 1869. These Acts focussed on suppressing venereal disease in the armed forces. The 1869 act controversially forced women suspected of being a prostitute to be examined and, if found to be infected, be quarantined for up to three months. The LNA campaigned against such measures, and in 1886 the Contagious Diseases Acts were repealed. The LNA further campaigned against sex trafficking and child prostitution, and it was their efforts that raised the age of consent to 16 in 1885, as well as introducing measures to suppress brothels and prevent trafficking. In 1915, the LNA joined with the British Branch of the International Abolitionist Federation (IAF), also founded by Josephine Butler, to become the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene (AMSH). The society took Josephine Butler’s name in 1962. The society acts to this day as a pressure group campaigning against the legalisation of prostitution, the trafficking of women and the marginalisation of those vulnerable to being forced into the profession.

JM 1 · Person · 1936 - present

Jessie McKirdy (1936 - present) is a peace activist who was born in Scotland and has lived in the USA since 1997. She was a member of the Glasgow Women for Peace in Glasgow in the 1980’s protesting against nuclear armaments being deployed in Scotland. As part of this, she attended the Greenham Commons Women’s Peace Camp on December 12th, 1982. Following the closure of the camp in 2000 to make way for the memorial site, McKirdy put together the papers she had kept on the Greenham Commons camp, including photographs and newspaper clippings.

KC1 · Person · 1950 -

Kate Charlesworth is a cartoonist and artist who has regularly contributed to LGBT and equality campaigns with her art. In 1988, when Clause 28 of the Local Government Act was pushing to ban the promotion of and education about homosexuality, she and three other local cartoonists produced a series of postcards to campaign against it. Her work has appeared in LGBT publications such as “The Pink Paper”, “Gay News”, “Strip AIDS”, and “Dyke’s Delight”, as well as “The Guardian”, “The Independent” and “New Internationalist”. She has also illustrated multiple books, including The Cartoon History of Time (2013), All That – the Other Half of History (1986), and Sally Heathcote: Suffragette (2014). Further, she has done work for the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO), a union which merged with two others to form UNISON in 1993. Her work has appeared in several exhibitions, including Rainbow City in 2006, and sh[OUT] in 2009. Her autobiography, Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide, was published in 2019, and explores the evolution of LGBT experiences and perceptions in society from the 1950s to present day. She is openly lesbian, and currently lives with her partner in Scotland.