Emily Williamson | |
|---|---|
 Emily Williamson | |
| Born | Emily Bateson (1855-04-17)17 April 1855 Highfield,Lancaster, England |
| Died | 12 January 1936(1936-01-12) (aged 80) Kensington, London, England |
| Occupation | Environmentalist |
| Known for | Society for the Protection of Birds |
| Spouse | |
Emily Williamson (néeBateson; 17 April 1855 – 12 January 1936), was an Englishphilanthropist. She was co-founder of theSociety for the Protection of Birds, which became theRSPB withEliza Phillips in 1891.[1][2] The Society for the Protection of Birds was granted 'Royal' status in 1904.[3] In 1891 she also established the Gentlewomen's Employment Association inManchester.[2]
Emily Bateson was born at Highfield,Lancaster, in April 1855. She was the daughter of Frederick Septimus Bateson and Eliza Frost. She settled inDidsbury after her marriage on 8 June 1882 toRobert Wood Williamson, where they lived until their relocation to The Copse,Brook, Surrey, in 1912. When Robert died in 1932, Emily moved toLondon where she remained for the rest of her life. She died at home inKensington on 12 January 1936, aged 80. The couple did not have any children.
Williamson disapproved of the use of bird feathers in fashion, both due to the reduction of bird population and thecruelty ofplume hunting. In February 1889 she founded the Society for the Protection of Birds, a group of women who pledged not to wear feathers from most birds.[2][4] Explicit exceptions included birds killed for food and the ostrich, because the harvesting of its tail feathers was not painful.[2][4] The society later became theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1904.
The early efforts of the Society were lauded in the press, including an endorsement inPunch in October 1889, althoughPunch questioned the degree of restriction imposed by the group: "Not avery severe self-denying ordinance that, Ladies?"[4] In 1891 Williamson's group merged with a similar organisation, organised byEliza Phillips and focused on both "fur and feather".[1][2][5] The headquarters of the merged Society for the Protection of Birds was moved to London.Hannah Poland took over from Williamson as secretary, andWinifred, the Duchess of Portland became president. Williamson took a vice-presidency which she would retain until her death. She also continued to serve as secretary in various branches through most of the rest of her life, according to where she lived: in Didsbury (1891–1911), Brook, Surrey (1912–1931), and London (1931 – ca. 1934).[2]
In the period from 1891 to 1899, membership expanded from 1,200 to over 20,000. Among the membership, once men were included, wasWilliam Henry Hudson. In 1904, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was incorporated byRoyal Charter, and the group began charging membership fees. That year was the only one in which Williamson spoke at an annual meeting, reflecting on the growth of the organization from "when it was a very small fledgling, and had no dreams of soaring to the heights which it had reached".[2]
The historical workMrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather[5] covers the personalities of those involved in the early days of the (R)SPB.
In 1891, she had founded the Gentlewomen's Employment Association in Manchester, and she also initiated two influential programmes from within this group: thePrincess Christian Training College for Nurses and, in 1898, the Loan Training Fund, which helped to subsidise the costs of further education for young women. Although it is believed that records of these organisations no longer exist, the Loan Training Fund was said to have been the first of its kind in the country.
The home in which she lived in Didsbury and from which she established her organisation, bears a plaque, which was placed in 1989, to honour her work on the centenary of her organisation.[2]
On 16th April 2023, aplaque honouring Williamson was unveiled in her birthplace in Lancaster by her great, great niece, zoologist and ornithologist ProfessorMelissa Bateson.[6][7] A statue of Williamson is due to be unveiled near her former home inDidsbury'sFletcher Moss Botanical Garden.[8]