Dame Sara Elizabeth Barker (15 February 1904 – 19 September 1973) was a

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political administrator, prominent in the Labour Party.

Early life

Born in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, Barker's father was an

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 ...

activist and served a term as Mayor of Halifax. Barker studied at Halifax Technical College, and with the

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, and became active in the Labour Party. At the age of sixteen, she became the women's officer for the local branch of the party.Dame Sara Elizabeth Barker profile
''

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''; accessed 30 March 2014. In 1935, Barker was appointed as secretary and agent for the Halifax branch of the Labour Party, and she gradually rose to prominence, becoming the party's Yorkshire women's officer in 1942, assistant national agent in 1951, and Chief Women's Officer in 1960. In 1962, she became National Agent for the party, the first women to hold this post. In 1968, she served as Acting General Secretary, following the resignation of Len Williams, and until Harry Nicholas was appointed. Lucy Middleton, ''Women in the Labour Movement: The British Experience'', pp. 157, 203. She retired from her posts in 1969, and was made a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Sara 1904 births 1973 deaths Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Labour Party (UK) officials People from Halifax, West Yorkshire