Audrey Layne Jeffers CM,

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 ...

(12 February 1898 – 24 June 1968) was a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er and the first female member of the

Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago The Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago served as an advisory commission to the governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governo ...

Life

Born in

Woodbrook, Port of Spain The Woodbrook district, west of Downtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was formerly a sugar estate owned by the Siegert family of Angostura bitters fame. The estate was sold to the Town Board in 1911 and developed into a residential neighbo ...

, Trinidad,"Audrey Jeffers (1896-1968), ''Profiles - Heroes, Pioneers and Role Models of Trinidad and Tobago''
, Safari Publications, pp. 47–48. to an upper-middle-class family, Jeffers was educated at Tranquillity Girls School and went to England when she was aged 15, later taking a diploma in social science at Alexander College, north London. While in London she was involved in founding the Union of Students of African Descent, which would become known as the

League of Coloured Peoples The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British civil-rights organisation that was founded in 1931 in London by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner Harold Moody with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on b ...

. After the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

, she worked among West African troops and set up a West African soldiers' fund, mobilising financial contributions from fellow West Indians. She returned to Trinidad in 1920 and ran a junior school in her family home, Briarsend. Moved by the sufferings of the underprivileged and dispossessed, she established the Coterie of Social Workers in 1921, which provided free lunches to poor school children. The first "Breakfast Shed" was established in Port of Spain in 1926. Others were established in Barataria,

San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando, is the most populous city and second most populous municipality in Trinidad and Tobago, after Chaguanas. Sando, as it is known to many local Trinidadians, occupies 19 km2 and is located in t ...

Siparia Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of San Fernando, southwest of Penal and Debe and southeast of Fyzabad. History Also called "The Sand City", Siparia was originally a non- Mission Amerindian settlement. ...

and

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

. They went on to establish homes for the elderly, the blind, "women in distress" and day nurseries. The first day nursery, established in John John, Port of Spain, was named Cipriani House after the labour leader

Arthur Andrew Cipriani Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani (31 January 1875 – 18 April 1945) was a Trinidad and Tobago labour leader and politician. He served as mayor of Port of Spain, elected member of the Legislative Council, leader of the Trinidad Workingmen's Associa ...

. In 1936, Jeffers became the first woman elected to the Port of Spain City Council. In 1946, she was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sir Bede Clifford. She was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1959. In 1969, she was posthumously awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal for Social Service. Her nephew was the historian Tony Martin. Jeffrey Green
"Slow March – Left, Right"
''BASA (Black & Asian Studies Association) Newsletter'', Diamond # 60 Issue - July 2011 # 61 November 2011.

Legacy

The

Audrey Jeffers Highway The Audrey Jeffers Highway is a highway in Trinidad and Tobago. It runs west from Downtown Port of Spain to Cocorite. The highway runs from the Hasely Crawford Stadium to the Cocorite area parallel to Mucurapo Road and the Western Main Road i ...

is named in her honour. Her legacy also lives on in The Coterie of Social Workers of Trinidad and Tobago, who continue to honour her memory by celebrations and commemorations.

References

External links

Colin Laird & Audrey Jeffers House (Sweet Briar House) – Port of Spain, Trinidad.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffers, Audrey 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago politicians 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago women politicians 1898 births 1968 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Port of Spain Recipients of the Chaconia Medal Trinidad and Tobago social workers

Life

Legacy

Further reading

References

External links