Mary Auld (née Jardine; 8 July 1893 – 3 July 1984) was a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
politician and women's organizer.
Life
Born in
Lockerbie
Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...
as Mary Jardine, she attended
Lockerbie Academy
Lockerbie Academy is a mainstream non-denominational secondary school in Lockerbie, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's l ...
, then moved to Glasgow to marry her cousin, John Marshall. Marshall died during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and to support her three step-children, Mary found work at Weir's munitions works in
Cathcart
Cathcart (; , ) is an area of This experience led her to join 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 ...
, and become a pacifist and agnostic.
In 1920, Mary married Jimmy Auld, and the two had a daughter, Jenny. In addition to her family responsibilities, she was active in the local
Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...
, and in childminding for women attending the Women's Welfare and Advisory Clinic, an early family planning clinic. From the late 1920s, she increased her political activity, serving on the executive of the Labour Party's Glasgow section, and chairing its Women's Advisory Council. She served on the executive of the Scottish council of the party from 1932, and in 1937 became the second woman to serve as chair of the party.
In 1941, following the death of Agnes Lauder, Auld was appointed as women's organiser of the Scottish Labour Party. She avoided public speaking, focusing on promoting policy development in the areas most relevant to women's lives, on encouraging women to stand for Parliament, and fundraising activities.
Later years
In 1958, she retired, moving to
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...
, her husband dying just months later. She continued attending Labour meetings.
Auld died from heart failure on 3 July 1984, at the age of 90, and was cremated at Linn crematorium, Glasgow.