Gladys Morrell

Gladys Morrell
Born
Gladys Carlyon De Courcy Misick

(1888-06-02)2 June 1888
Somerset, Bermuda
Died6 January 1969(1969-01-06) (aged 80)
Resting placeSomerset, Bermuda
NationalityBermudian
EducationBermuda High School; North London Collegiate School
Alma materRoyal Holloway College, London University
Occupation(s)Social politician, suffragette
Spouse
John Morrell
​
(m. 1926)​

Gladys Carlyon De Courcy Misick Morrell (2 June 1888 – 6 January 1969) was a Bermudian suffragette leader, who advocated for women's voting rights in Bermuda for 30 years, and founded the Bermuda Welfare Society.[1] She was designated a National Hero of Bermuda in 2015.[2]

Biography

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A police sergeant confiscates Morrell's table in the 1930s

Gladys Morrell was born in Somerset, Bermuda, the daughter of Terrence Misick and Thalia J. D. Misick (née Wells, who had been born in British Guiana to Bermudian parents).[3][4] She attended Bermuda High School and North London Collegiate School, and went on to receive an honours bachelor's degree from Royal Holloway College, London University, in 1911, becoming one of the first Bermudians to earn a university degree; her ambition to become a lawyer, however, was unfulfilled because law schools in England did not admit women until 1919.[4] After graduating, she travelled to India to visit her brother John, and on her return to England, she took up working and organising in the women's suffrage movement,[5] and was active in Millicent Fawcett's National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies until the end of 1913.[1][3]

She went home the following year and began a woman suffrage campaign in Bermuda, holding the first meeting in St. George's in 1914.[3][6] On the outbreak of World War I, she travelled back to England with the aim of assisting the war effort. Supporting herself by working in an insurance firm in London, she then volunteered with the Red Cross, and subsequently worked close to the front lines in Verdun, France, serving food to soldiers and tending the wounded, until she fell ill herself and was sent back to England in 1918 – which was also the year that Britain brought in legislation giving the franchise to women over 30 and Morrell was able to vote for the first time.[1]

Returning to Bermuda in 1919, she dedicated herself to what would be a long struggle fighting for the right of women to vote. In 1923 the Bermuda Women's Suffrage Society was established, with Morrell as its secretary and effective leader.[7][5] In 1925, she also co-founded the Bermuda Welfare Society, which established the district nursing service.[1] Rallies and public meetings of the suffrage movement were organised throughout the 1920s, and the campaigning escalated in the 1930s: every year when Morrell refused to pay her taxes because she was not allowed to vote, her furniture was seized and taken away for auction at Somerset Police Station,[8] where suffragettes gathered and bought it back annually;[9][10] however, it would not be until 1944 that Morrell's efforts succeeded in ensuring voting rights for property-owning women in Bermuda.[5][10]

Private life and death

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She married retired Royal Navy officer John Morrell on 20 April 1926, and their daughter Rachel (later Bromby) was born in 1928.[4][5][11]

Gladys Morrell died aged 80 in 1969; she was buried in the family tomb at St. James Church, Somerset, Bermuda.[4]

Legacy and honours

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On 1 May 2000, a commemorative pack of postage stamps was issued honouring Gladys Morrell as one of three "Pioneers of Progress" – the others being Sir Henry James Tucker and Dr Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon – who made a significant and lasting contribution to Bermudian society.[12]

On 14 November 2014, Gladys Morrell was posthumously awarded the fifth annual Peace and Justice Award given by the Roman Catholic Church.[13]

She was named a National Hero of Bermuda for 2015, along with Sir Edward T. Richards,[14] being inducted in a ceremony on 14 June 2015.[2][15]

The Gladys Morrell Nature Reserve in Bermuda's Sandy's Parish was named in her honour,[16] in recognition of her concern about environmental issues.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Gladys Misick Morrell", Bermudabios.
  2. ^ a b "National Heroes: Gladys Morrell, Sir ET Richards", Bernews, 8 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Elizabeth Taylor, "Individual Roundabout: Gladys Carlyon DeCourcey Morrell", The Bermudian, 17 February 2015; originally published January 1942.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Gladys Carlyon De Courcy Misick Morrell", Caribbean Elections, 7 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "Gladys Carlyon de Courcy Morrell", Bermuda Heroes Weekend 2017.
  6. ^ Felicity Glennie-Holmes, "Breakdown of the Bermuda Political System", Enter Bermuda, 21 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Political Development", London Office, Government of Bermuda.
  8. ^ Hazel Canning, "Bermuda Women Refuse to Pay Taxes Until They Can Vote", New York Sun, 24 December 1934.
  9. ^ Owain Johnston-Barnes, "Suffragette’s table to go under hammer", The Royal Gazette, 28 February 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Gladys Morrell Table Bought By Historical Society", Bernews, 5 March 2017. Archived 8 July 2017.
  11. ^ Jessie Moniz Hardy, "Remembering the suffragettes", The Royal Gazette, 3 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Bermuda – Pioneers of progress", Stamp World.
  13. ^ Sam Strangeways, "Suffragist leader to be honoured with posthumous award", The Royal Gazette, 5 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Morrell and Richards named National Heroes", The Royal Gazette, 9 June 2015.
  15. ^ Owain Johnston-Barnes, "National Heroes inducted and honoured", The Royal Gazette, 16 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Gladys Morrell Nature Reserve Bermuda", Bermuda Attractions, 5 January 2017. Archived 3 July 2017.
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