Dame Florence Hancock is the subject of latest blue plaque unveiled in Chippenham recently and is one of only 8 women thus commemorated in the whole of Wiltshire and Swindon. Having visited the site for a Heritage Open Day previously, it was natural for the Our Town group to attend Mel Barnett's Zoom talk on behalf of Chippenham Museum.
Florence Hancock was born in Chippenham of the humblest of stock where she lived in the worst of conditions - once described as being some of the worst in the country. Her story tells of how she went from one of 14 (or possibly 20?) children to one of the first women to head the TUC. The quotation you can see in the photo at the top of the post is from a speech given by Lloyd George which inspired her from the age of 10.
Politics wasn't her first choice of career, but hard work, long hours and her sense of unfairness at the working conditions of her fellow workers thrust her into the trade union movement. The early activities of herself and colleagues at Nestle - and an infamous strike - led to a question being asked in parliament, not bad for a small town like Chippenham! Her distinguished career over many decades led to her Damehood - the highest honour which can be bestowed on a woman in the UK.
An inspirational story which ought to become a book!
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