Dame Anne May Curwen,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

DBE (7 May 1889 – 13 September 1973) was an English educator and charity worker. She was the National General Secretary of the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

of Great Britain, was secretary of the

Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...

(SWH) and founded the

British Council for Aid to Refugees The Refugee Council is a UK-based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The ...

Life

Curwen was born on 7 May 1889. Her father William Curwen died in 1896 and her mother Emma Curwen (possibly ) died in 1901. She was educated at Birkenhead High School for Girls and

Harrogate College Harrogate College, formerly known as Harrogate College of Further Education and later Harrogate College of Arts and Technology, is a further education college in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It offers several levels of qualifications, ...

, attending

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, where she took the

Historical Tripos The Faculty of History is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. Teaching and research of history has centuries old roots at Cambridge and the first Regius Professorship of Modern History was established by King Geo ...

and gained a First in History. After graduating from university, Curwen worked as "History Mistress" at Orme Girls’ School in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. After her teaching career and the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

(SWH) was founded by Dr

Elsie Inglis Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis (16 August 1864 – 26 November 1917) was a Scottish medical doctor, surgeon, teacher, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the first woman to hold the Serbian Order of the White Eagl ...

to support the war effort. Curwen became the secretary of the Scottish Women's Hospitals in 1916. In 1922, she was awarded Jugo-Slav Order of St Sava (3rd Class) in recognition of her war work. In 1919, she joined the YWCA as education secretary, then as National General Secretary from 1930–1949. During this period, she described herself as having a "feminist soul." In 1937, she was appointed OBE in the Coronation Honours. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Curwen travelled and worked across Europe and became interested in the plight of refugees. In 1951, Curwen founded the

in direct response to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Convention for Refugees, and sat as President of Council from 1962 until her death. She was the British delegate to the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

from 1954–58. She was appointed DBE in 1949 for her work helping the homeless and refugees,New Years Honours
''

The British Journal of Nursing ''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...

''. January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 31 August 2022. then was awarded the United Nations Nansen Medal award in 1964. She died in 1973 in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, aged 84.

References

1889 births 1973 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Birkenhead People from Harrogate Place of birth missing Place of death missing Nansen Refugee Award laureates Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire

External links

Photographs of Curwen
at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

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