Cecilia Annie John (5 November 187728 May 1955) was an Australian social activist,

peace campaigner A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world ...

, and musician.

Early life

John was born on 5 November 1877 in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

to parents who were immigrants from

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. She left her parents' home while young and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to study music. She was a

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

and performed with the Metropolitan Liedertafel, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society, and the German Opera Company. John also became an expert in the field of raising

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

, having started her own

poultry farm Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion chick ...

at Deepdene in order to finance her musical education.

Career

Joining the Collins Street Independent Church, John became interested in social questions and adopted feminist and anti- conscriptionist views that were radical for the time. She was a friend of

Vida Goldstein Vida Jane Mary Goldstein (pron. ) (13 April 186915 August 1949) was an Women's suffrage in Australia, Australian suffragist and social reformer. She was one of four female candidates at the 1903 Australian federal election, 1903 federal election ...

and assisted in her attempt to enter Parliament in 1913, and was a member of the anti-conscription

Australian Freedom League The Australian Freedom League (AFL) was an anti-conscription organisation founded in Australia in 1912. Growing out of an earlier organisation called the "Anti-Military Service League", it was initially based in Adelaide, although by 1914 there w ...

. When Australian Prime Minister

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

proposed compulsory military service in order to provide reinforcements for the depleted Australian Imperial Force, John and other anti-war feminists reacted by forming the Women's Peace Army (WPA), which worked to oppose both conscription and militarism. John was especially noted for singing at WPA events, leading authorities to ban public performances of her signature song ''

I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" is an American anti-war song that was influential within the pacifist movement that existed in the United States before it entered World War I. It is one of the first anti-war songs.Pelger, Martin, "Soldi ...

''; a ban that John proceeded to ignore. In 1919, John was among the three Australians who attended a postwar conference in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, along with

and Eleanor May Moore. Following the war, John became interested in the Dalcroze Eurhythmic style of dance, and in 1921 moved permanently to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to study it further. In 1932 she became the principal at the London School of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and continuing to hold that position until her death in 1955. John was a strong supporter of the Save the Children Fund and visited Australia in 1923 and 1927 to raise funds to ease the plight of thousands of Armenian refugees in Syria. During her 1927 visit she also examined students of

Dalcroze Eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is a developmental approach to music education. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and has inf ...

. Together with her friends and fellow activists Goldstein and

Ina Higgins Frances Georgina Watts Higgins (September 1860 – 26 October 1948), usually known as Ina Higgins, was an Australian horticulturalist, landscape architect and feminist. She was the first female landscape architect in Victoria. Biography Early l ...

, John helped to establish the Rural Women's Industries Co-operative Women's farm in

Mordialloc Mordialloc ( ) is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the ...

, Victoria.

Later years and death

John died on 28 May 1955 in

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. John Close, in the Canberra suburb of

Gilmore Gilmore or Gillmore may refer to: *Gilmore (surname) Places Australia *Gilmore, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong * Gilmore Avenue, a road in southern Perth, Western Australia *Division of Gilmore, a ...

, is named in her honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Cecilia 1877 births 1955 deaths Australian anti-war activists Dalcroze Eurhythmics Australian people of Welsh descent People from Hobart Australian contraltos Australian women activists 20th-century Australian women singers 19th-century Australian women singers Australian women of World War I Australian anti–World War I activists