Marjorie Nicholson , (22 December 1914 – 22 July 1997) 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 the

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Until 1974 it was in Northumberland. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the '' Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 ...

area of

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, Nicholson grew up in Kenton, then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. She was educated at

Harrow High School Harrow High School is a co-educational academy in the London Borough of Harrow and a specialist Sports College. It was previously called Gayton High School and Harrow County School for Boys. The school has a sixth form for post-16 studies part ...

before winning a scholarship to

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, where she received a degree in modern history. While at the university, she became interested in socialism, and joined the

Oxford University Labour Club Oxford University Labour Club (OULC), was founded in 1919 to promote democratic socialism and is today the home of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party and of social democracy at Oxford University. The club caters for any students who are intere ...

. On graduation, Nicholson became a teacher at the East Ham Grammar School for Girls, also tutoring for the

Workers Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

, but she returned to Oxford in 1941 as the organising tutor for extra-mural history in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. At the end of

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 ...

, she took up the post of assistant secretary with the

Fabian Colonial Bureau Fabian may refer to: People * Fabian (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Pope Fabian (died 250), Catholic saint * Fabian Forte (born 1943), 1950s American teen idol, singer and actor, known by the mononym Fabian * ...

. During this period, the bureau was influential with sections of the Labour Party government, particularly with regard to encouraging economic and political development in British colonies. She took three months’ leave in 1949 to run adult education classes in

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, ...

, then took over as secretary of the bureau in 1950. By this time, it was struggling financially. She proposed that colonial governments should work with nationalist leaders to gain independence, but the bureau remained open to differing perspectives. However, she resigned in 1955, feeling that the organisation's influence had declined. Nicholson hoped to pursue her own political career, and stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

at the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

1951 United Kingdom general election The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held twenty months after the 1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 general election, which the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats. The Labour governm ...

s. Despite having resigned from the bureau, Nicholson continued to collaborate with it and write for its journal. She found work with the Commonwealth Department of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC), one of the few women working in trade union policy development at the time. She came into frequent contact with trade union leaders in other countries, and undertaking trips to Tanganyika and

. While loyally passing on advice from the TUC, she recognised that these overseas trade unions should determine their own policies. Nicholson retired in 1972 and began researching the overseas influence of the TUC. She published one volume on the subject, ''The TUC overseas: the roots of policy'', described in ''Labour's First Century'' as "a detailed but somewhat uncritical account". When she died in 1997, a second volume remained incomplete.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Marjorie 1914 births 1997 deaths Academics of the University of Oxford People educated at Harrow High School Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Activists from Newcastle upon Tyne Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire