Frances Marjorie Graves (17 September 1884 – 17 November 1961) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician and writer.

Early life

She was born in Allerton,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and was the youngest daughter of William Graves and his wife Fanny Charlotte née Neilson. William Graves was a ship owner in the port whose father had been Conservative MP for

. The Graves family subsequently moved to Newells,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, where William became a Justice of the Peace. They also maintained a house in

Brompton Square Brompton Square is a garden square in London's Brompton, London, Brompton district, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. History The initial development of the square was undertaken by James Bonnin in 1821. Listed buildings Many o ...

, London.

Education

Marjorie had a private education, later schooling being carried out at Château de Dieudonne, Bornel, France. Her researches in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

and Archives Nationales in Paris led to her publications of three works.

Career

Civil service

With the outbreak of war in 1914 she took up employment in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. She attended the post-World War I

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

, before transferring to the Intelligence Department of the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

Political career

Graves was politically a Conservative, and was a member of

Holborn Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. The borough included most of Holborn (the parts outside the City of London) as well as Bloomsbury and St Giles. In 1965 the borough a ...

from 1928 to 1934. She became the first female chairman of the Metropolitan Area of the

National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations The National Conservative Convention (NCC), is the most senior body of the Conservative Party's voluntary wing. The National Convention effectively serves as the Party's internal Parliament, and is made up of its 800 highest-ranking Party Office ...

in 1936. In 1931 she was chosen as Conservative candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Hackney South, held by Labour cabinet minister

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minist ...

. She succeeded in unseating Morrison to become the area's Member of Parliament. At the next general election in 1935 she was hopeful of retaining the seat, with her campaign centering on opposition to the use of

Hackney Marshes Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, an ...

for the building of

council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

s. She was, however, badly beaten, with Morrison returning to parliament with a large majority. In 1936 she formed part of the British Government delegation to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. In 1937 she was adopted as prospective candidate for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. The next general election was, however, delayed until 1945 by the

Second World War 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 ...

, and she did not contest the seat.

Retirement

She retired to

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parishes in England, civil parish, in the England, English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome southwest of Poole. Situa ...

, where she became a member of the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. She was unmarried, and died in Wareham in November 1961.

Interests

In 1932 and 1933 she was a vice-president of the Supporters Club of the Clapton Orient Football Club and worked closely with Herbert Morrison MP in support of Clapton Orient. Source: Neilson N. Kaufman, honorary historian Leyton Orient FC.

Works

* Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition of relics of past and present wars, held at South Lodge, Horsham, 7 August 1916. By F. M. Graves.

ith plates. The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is im ...

pp. ix. 62. G. P. Putnam's Sons: London & New York, 1917. 4º. * Graves, Frances Marjorie. Quelques pièces relatives à la vie de Louis I., duc d'Orléans et de Valentine Visconti, sa femme. pp. xii. 310. 1913. Bibliothèque. Bibliothèque du XVe siècle. tom. 19. 1906, etc. 8º. * Campan, Jeanne Louise Henriette. Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie-Antoinette, reine de France. Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette ... Third edition. Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette, to which are added personal recollections illustrative of the reigns of Louis XIV, XV, XVI ... Also a memoir of Madame Campan by F. Barrière. A new edition, revised by F. M. Graves. With an introduction and notes by J. Holland Rose ... Illustrated with thirty plates ncluding portraits 3 vol. H. Young & Sons: Liverpool, 1917

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khorob. They offer Sicily to the Fatimid C ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Marjorie Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Hackney Members of Parliament 1884 births 1961 deaths UK MPs 1931–1935 Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of Holborn Metropolitan Borough Council 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English politicians Women councillors in England 20th-century English non-fiction writers