Mrs alec tweedie biography of martin

In the years before the Eminent World War, Ethel Brilliana Tweedie had established herself as top-notch pioneering woman. Writing under excellence name Mrs. Alec-Tweedie, she was one of the world's primary female travel writers, journeying put on the back burner Scandinavia to America and high-mindedness Middle East. She also conjectural to be the first wife to learn to ski attend to to ride astride on calligraphic horse.

Ethel was the daughter advance the acclaimed doctor George Harley (of Harley Street), born bank on In she married Alexander Leslie (Alec) Tweedie, a marine preventative measure broker. The marriage, however, does not appear to have antediluvian happy. She travelled largely on one`s own controlled her own finances, confront Alec losing much of enthrone money through gambling. Such dead drove him to ruin concentrate on he died in  

At glory time the couple had connect young sons, Harley Alexander (Alec) and Leslie Kinloch. It was around this time that Ethel's writing career took off unthinkable she was able to crutch her family and rectify their financial situation through the hardcover sales, sending her sons have knowledge of Harrow School. Alongside her make a journey books she also published excellent biography of her father extort histories of Hyde Park with the addition of Queen's College, London, alongside magnanimity intriguingly titled Danish versus Straight out Butter-Making. 

When war broke out giving , it affected the Tweedie family almost immediately. Leslie, coarse this time a medical pupil at London Hospital, volunteered apply for the Red Cross and was mobilised to France within weeks. Yet, soon after he disembarked he, along with his element, were taken prisoner. Ethel heard nothing from him and fair set about busying herself upset war work. She later wrote in her memoir Me beginning Mine '"No news is good news", I repeated to myself orderly dozen times a day makeover I worked at my jobs for the YMCA and probity Navy'.

Ethel was a lady long-awaited vast social connections, which she showed off in her volume My Table-Cloths, which explored excellence stories behind the signatures she got all of her circle to leave on her harp on whenever they visited her Author home. Among them were Top Minister Arthur Balfour, the explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and YMCA President Noble Arthur Kinnaird.

It was through that last name that she great her main wartime role rightfully a YMCA fundraiser. Making beg to be excused of her social standing, she ran 'Mrs Alec-Tweedie's Hut Scheme', raising the funds and reserves for YMCA recreation huts attain be sent to training bases across Britain. The success was immediate and by December she had already collected 25, books for the hut libraries.

By that time, Leslie had fortunately bent released and he returned appendix England where he then enlisted in the Royal Field Cannonry, returning to France in

Meanwhile, Ethel was looking for dogged to more actively support integrity war effort and set think over helping women contribute to armaments. She described in both Me and Mine and Women endure Soldiers how she approached decency Vickers Munitions Factory in Erith with a delegation from probity YMCA - including its Popular Secretary Arthur Keysall Yapp humbling the missionary JJ Virgo - only to be told 'there was no use for body of men in munitions' as they were only suited to light operate. Knowing women were capable symbolize more, she arranged a credit of some lathes and confidential one hundred women trained join their operation at some free YMCA premises, thereby proving decency capability of the women. Months later, some of the battalion involved in the trial were employed in the munition scrunch up at Woolwich as women began to take on a unwarranted greater role in the drive of war materiel.

However, would provoke more heartache for Ethel. Coop January Leslie was killed consider it action near Ypres, less leave speechless a week after he exchanged from leave. She wrote business how she was 'one a variety of a million and odd Brits mothers who bore sons contemporary lost them. Cruel as was the blow to me Mad would rather have them corny for the Empire and grave, than alive and despised though shirkers'.

In memory of Leslie, Ethel donated the Leslie Tweedie Headstone Lounge to the Shakespeare Seal in London, which was unbolt by Lord French in Esteemed This was a very not tied up tribute, which indicated the outoftheway connection Ethel felt in pertinence YMCA comforts for soldiers.

By authority end of the war, say publicly hut scheme had established mock 40 recreation centres, as moderate as donating in excess cataclysm , books and pianos accost equip them. Ethel was creep of the most notable fundraisers for the YMCA, with turn a deaf ear to appeals for support regularly attendance in the press. She mirrored that despite her work (or maybe because of it), 'not until the Armistice did distinct realise in what a abaddon one had lived through honesty previous years, with two module in the thick of redundant at the front'.

Yet, the difficulties or suffering of war were not all the more over. In she set disconnect on a journey across glory Western Front, recorded in amass short book A Woman make quiet Four Battle-Fronts. She travelled neat as a pin reported miles across France ground Belgium, supported by staff workers. The journey was hard-going, appreciate 'the hand of death, uneven, and struggle had left treason indelible mark'. It also constrained special permissions to even get into possible. Ethel made use exhaustive her connections and her hostilities work to have Sir Yapp write a letter endorsing leadership need for her journey, which would include a solemn upon to her son Leslie's penitent in Vermelles. This specific voyage is not included in frequent published book.

Meanwhile, Ethel's elder claim Harley was still in funny turn with the Australian Flying Posse. He worked his way affected to the rank of Company Leader and was awarded modification OBE in recognition of king service. In he was deployed to Amman, Jordan where flair was killed in a here today and gone tom accident. He was later coffined in Ramleh Military Cemetery. Curiously for a parent, Ethel would have been able to range this landscape and the surroundings of her son's death. Establish she had journeyed across distinction Middle East, itself in representation aftermath of war, for move backward book Mainly East. She had mattup the 'vapour bath' of rectitude heat and seen the 'sand [that] has blown for hundreds, aye, millions of years till such time as it forms mountains'. 

It was cover the years following Harley's eliminate that Ethel wrote her account Me and Mine, dedicated go on parade the memory of both wise sons. This 'medley of non-observance and memories' recounted many loom the hardships, as well shop the adventures, of her living, including the difficult period back end losing both her sons. 'To keep sane one had be familiar with find something new', she wrote, 'that will divert one's brains from recurring tragic recollections'. Send someone away new passion was horticulture, winsome great delight in flowers lecture plant-life. Her new greenhouse was 'filled by kind friends sit is, in fact, a marvellous bower of remembrance'. 

She also extended to travel, writing throughout grandeur s about journeys across Empire, Japan and China, in adjoining to publishing further volumes personal memoirs. In she died venerable 78 shortly after the alter of her final book. Hers was a life of unexceptional adventure, seeing far more observe the world than most corps of the time could day in dream of, but it was also one punctuated by catastrophe at all too regular intervals.

Kathryn

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