On this day, 16 September 1879
By Sally Sellers
On 16 September, 1879 Caroline Ganley CBE, political activist and committed public servant, was born. With no financial or educational advantages and 3 children by the age of 26, she became one of the first female magistrates in the country, the first woman President of the 800,000 strong London Co-operative Society and Battersea’s first female MP.
Caroline Ganley’s winning campaign to become MP
There is a Battersea Society plaque honouring this extraordinary woman on her home at 5 Thirsk Road.
She might look like an ordinary grannie, but this woman was an innovator, a pioneer and an unstoppable force. Sue Demont, who wrote the wonderful The Bombing of Battersea, has also written a book about Ganley entitled Battersea’s First Lady.
You can also read about her and other remarkable women in Jeanne Rathbone’s ‘Inspiring Women of Battersea.’ Both are available here