Elizabeth Jean St Clair Girling (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Aytoun; 7 March 1913 – 24 March 2005) was an English veteran of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, a political activist and a charity campaigner.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Aytoun was born 7 March 1913 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, UK, to Dorothy Henderson and Rev Robert Aytoun, an

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

scholar. Her father died when she was seven, and

Edward Cadbury Edward Cadbury (1873 – 21 November 1948) was a British chairman of Cadbury Brothers, business theorist, and philanthropist, known for his pioneering works on management and organisations. Biography Edward Cadbury was the eldest son of G ...

became her guardian. Cadbury funded Girling's education, and she attended

St Leonards School St Leonards School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current pre ...

in St Andrews, followed by

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where she studied English Literature; one of her tutors at Oxford was J R R Tolkien. While at Oxford, Girling became a communist and would go on to work for both the League of Nations Association and

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

after graduation.

Spanish Civil War

Girling travelled to Spain in 1937 to join the resistance against General Franco's uprising. Based in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, her main responsibility was caring for children evacuated due to the war. While in Spain, she met Frank Girling, then a Cambridge student working for the

International Voluntary Service for Peace International Voluntary Service (IVS), formerly International Voluntary Service for Peace (IVSP), is the British branch of the Service Civil International (SCI). Founded in 1931, IVS promotes peace through volunteering, both in the United Kingd ...

. They married in 1939.

Activism and charity work

Having left Spain, Girling opened the family home,

Ashintully Castle Ashintully Castle, located near Kirkmichael, north of Blairgowrie, in the county of Perthshire Scotland, was built in 1583 as a fortified tower house by the Spalding family; the Feudal Barons of Ashintully. The Spalding Barons were chiefs of th ...

, to refugees from Eastern Europe and London during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...

, while Frank was posted first to the east coast of Scotland and subsequently to India. After the war, the couple moved around England, Frank's work as a social anthropologist and academic taking them to university cities including

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, before eventually settling in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Girling remained a committed socialist and was a firm supporter of the Labour party. She founded the Partisan Coffee House in Victoria Street, Edinburgh, in 1959 which would become a well-known meeting place for left-wing intellectuals and artists throughout the 1960s. Girling was also a campaigner for improved services for allergy sufferers in Scotland, and was a founding member of the Lothian Allergy Support Group. Representing this organisation, she petitioned the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

to establish specialist clinics for allergy sufferers in Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girling, Elizabeth 1913 births 2005 deaths People educated at St Leonards School Alumni of the University of Oxford Activists from Birmingham, West Midlands British communists British women of the Spanish Civil War