Olive Gertrude Deer ( Stoakes; 31 July 1897 – 20 April 1983) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician. Born Olive Stoakes, she grew up in

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

, in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, where she attended the Barcroft Street School. She married Labour Party activist

George Deer George Deer, OBE (29 March 1890 – 15 May 1974) was a British trade union official and politician. Early career Deer went to an elementary school in Grimsby. He began work at the age of 12 and worked on the railways, at the docks and in enginee ...

in 1916, and became involved in the party herself.Deer, Mrs Olive Gertrude
, ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

''. Accessed 1 December 2022. From 1921, Deer served on the Ministry of Labour Exchange Committee, and from 1922 on her local

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

. She was elected to

Lincoln City Council The City of Lincoln Council is the local authority for the district of Lincoln, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. The council consists of 33 councillors, three for each of the 11 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labour P ...

in 1945, and served on the board of the Lincoln Co-operative Society, chairing it from 1946 to 1948. George was elected to Parliament at the

1945 UK general election The 1945 United Kingdom general election took place on Thursday 5 July 1945. With the Second World War still fresh in voters’ minds, the opposition Labour Party under the leadership of Clement Attlee won a landslide victory with a majority ...

, and after a few years the couple relocated to London. She was appointed as an alderman on

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

in 1952, serving until 1958, when she switched to become a councillor for Shoreditch and Finsbury. From 1955 to 1962, she chaired the council's Welfare Committee, then in 1962/63 she was chair of the council."Woman Chairman for L.C.C.", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 24 January 1962. Olive and George both retired in 1964 and returned to Lincolnshire. She was elected to

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Borough Council in 1964, serving until 1967.

References

1897 births 1983 deaths Councillors in Lincolnshire Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council People from Cleethorpes Women councillors in England {{England-politician-stub