Theodora Matilda Morton MBE (23 August 1872 – 14 March 1949) was an English welfare worker. She led the new school care service when it was established based on the ideas of Margaret Frere.

Life

Morton was born in

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...

in 1872. Her parents were Matilda (born Fuessly) and Joseph Morton. Her father made cutlery. She gained her experience dealing with managing the distribution of charitable assistance working for the

Charity Organization Society The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians along the lines of the Elberfeld system. In the early 1870s, ...

(COS). The COS would visit families requiring assistance and arrange what was necessary. At the beginning of 1908 she and Douglas Pepler who had both worked for the COS as temporary employees of 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 ...

. They were the first principal organisers of the school care service and within a year their positions were made permanent. Pepler left leaving Morton with this challenging position. The approach was based on the pioneering work of school manager Margaret Frere and her Charitable Funds Committee. Frere believed that a care service should "unite the home with the school education". The new school care service relied on volunteers but they were initially organised by two women employed by

. Morton was their boss and responsible for the new service. Morton divided the service into twelve regions where care committees staffed by volunteers identified children in need of school dinners or other assistance. By 1925 she was earning more than four times the salary of the best paid women teachers. She was organising 900 care committees and about 6,000 volunteers. There were over 1,000 elementary schools in London and nearly every one had a dedicated committee. In 1930 Morton was awarded an MBE and she retired.

Helen Nussey Helen Georgiana Nussey OBE (27 November 1875 – 6 February 1965) was an early British welfare worker and writer on gardening. Life Nussey was born in Richmond, London in 1875. Her parents were Mary Anne (born Charrington) and Antony Foxcroft N ...

who had worked for Morton was appointed as her replacement as "Principal Organiser". Morton died in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Theodora English social workers 1872 births 1949 deaths People from South Norwood Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire