Lady Hilda Alice Selwyn-Clarke, née Browning, (1899-1967) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

socialist activist. Born in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

as Hilda Alice Browning, she was educated on a scholarship at a local

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, then studied teaching at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

.Susanna Hoe, ''The private life of old Hong Kong'', pp. 266-268 Selwyn-Clarke became active in the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP) and stood for it in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

at the 1931 general election. In 1934, she stood for the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

against

Bertram Mills Bertram Wagstaff Mills (August 1873 – 16 April 1938) was a British circus owner originally from Paddington, London, who ran the Bertram Mills Circus. His circus became famous in the UK for its Christmas shows at Olympia in West London televised ...

, using the slogan "Bread not Circuses". In 1934, she wrote a pamphlet, "Women under fascism and communism", with Dora Fabian. Selwyn-Clarke worked as an assistant to

Fenner Brockway Archibald Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway (1 November 1888 – 28 April 1988) was a British socialist politician, humanist campaigner and anti-war activist. Early life and career Brockway was born to Rev. William George Brockway and Frances Eliz ...

, then for the Society for Cultural Relations with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Through this, she met

Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Sir Percy Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke (, 17 December 1893 – 13 March 1976) was the Director of Medical Services, Hong Kong, from 1937 to 1943 and Governor of the Seychelles from 1947 to 1951. Biography Sir Percy Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke was born in Nort ...

, and the two married in 1935. She went to live with her husband on postings in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and from February 1938 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and brought up their daughter, Mary, who was born in 1936 and went to study at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

. During this time, Selwyn-Clarke was known by the nickname 'Red Hilda'. In Hong Kong, she chaired the local Eugenics League, which promoted the availability of

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

for working-class women, and was honorary secretary of the China Defence League, which raised funds for China in its war against Japan. 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 ...

, Selwyn-Clarke worked at the War Memorial Hospital. Although her husband initially continued in his role under Japanese occupation, he was arrested on 2 May 1943; she and Mary were sent to the

Stanley Internment Camp Stanley Internment Camp () was a civilian internment camp in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Located in Stanley, Hong Kong, Stanley, on the southern end of Hong Kong Island, it was used by the Imperial Japanese Army, Japanese imperial fo ...

. Dr. Selwyn-Clarke refused to make any confession in spite of torture, and in December 1944, he was released from a prison sentence and the family was reunited at another camp. Dr. Selwyn-Clarke served as Governor of the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

between 1947 and 1951. Back in England, Selwyn-Clarke was elected to

in 1952 as a Labour Party councillor in

Fulham East Fulham East was a borough constituency in the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham in London. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. Elections were held using the first-past-the-post voti ...

, continuing as councillor for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

when the seats were redistributed until she stood down in 1965 due to poor health. She was also prominent in the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

, chairing its Colonial Bureau and working with the China Campaign Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selwyn-Clarke, Hilda 1899 births 1967 deaths Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Internees at Stanley Internment Camp Women councillors in England Members of the Fabian Society Clapham Fulham