Connie Adam (née Constance Varvel; 1927–2021) was a champion fencer and the first woman Freeman of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. Although she did not take up fencing until retirement, Adam won 140 medals in the sport, and was crowned both European and Commonwealth champion.

Early life

Constance Varvel was born in Norwich in 1927, and raised by her grandparents. She obtained her first paid work at around the age of 7, and left Angel Road School at 14, finding work at Steward & Patteson's Brewery on a bottling machine. The following year, in 1942, bomb damage forced she and her grandparents out of their home. At 17, she became a taxi driver in Norwich - possibly the only woman taxi driver in the city at that time. In 1948, she married James M. Adam. This required her to leave Steward & Patteson's, with a

marriage bar A marriage bar is the practice of restricting the employment of married women. Common in English-speaking countries from the late 19th century to the 1970s, the practice often called for the termination of the employment of a woman on her marriag ...

in place. The couple had three children: Pamela, Robert and Ian. Throughout her marriage, Adam worked a variety of jobs to help support the family, including for 27 years as a driver for a businessman.

Fencing

Adam took up fencing at the age of 60 after attending a 'come and try day' organised by Norwich City Council. She trained at the Norfolk Fencing Club, and travelled nationally and internationally for competitions. Adam went on to win more than 100 medals, including bronze at the World Veteran Championships in 2011, held in Croatia. In recognition of her sporting achievements, Adam was asked to carry the

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when it passed through Norwich in 2012. She described this as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience". Adam acted as an ambassador for Active Norfolk, and was featured as part of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

's Sportspark’s

This Girl Can The This Girl Can campaign was developed by Sport England to promote sport amongst women. The first TV ad was aired on 12 January 2015. It was accompanied by cinema, outdoor, and social media advertising, which included a Twitter campaign using the ...

campaign, as well as that of British Fencing. James Craig of British Fencing said of Adam: "At British Fencing we want to share Connie’s story further to help inspire women and girls at any age and at any ability to have a go at fencing." Adam retired from fencing in 2019 at the age of 91, citing the unmanageable weight of the kit she travelled with rather than any decrease in fitness. In 2020, she was named by the

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...

as one of Norfolk's "Sporting Heroes".

Freeman of Norwich

An illegitimate child, Adam did not meet her father until 1977, when she was almost 50 years old. Her father was a Freeman of the City of Norwich, and Adam was disappointed to discover that women were not able to take the honour. Alongside others, she launched a campaign to enable women to become Freemen of the city. Following ten years of campaigning, the efforts were successful, and a special ceremony held at St. Andrew's Hall admitted 250 women as Freemen. With her surname beginning with 'A', Adam was the first.

Death and legacy

Connie Adam died in 2021 at the age of 93. Fencing magazine ''The Sword'' wrote that "Norfolk and fencing have lost one of its inspirational characters but her spirit will live on amongst those who have known her." That year on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, Adam's name was painted on a stone as part of a project to honour notable women from Norfolk by the Rosie’s Plaques project. Others featured included Amelia Opie,

Sophia Duleep Singh Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh ( ; 8 August 1876 – 22 August 1948) was a prominent suffragette in the United Kingdom. Her father was Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, who had lost his Sikh Empire to the Punjab Province of British ...

, and Joyce Lambert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Connie 1927 births 2021 deaths English fencers People from Norwich 20th-century English sportswomen