Sarah Butler

Reading about the recent untimely death of foreign correspondent Marie Colvin in war-torn Syria, I was reminded of Somervillian Evelyn Irons. Both women were fearless in their determination to report from war zones and both were very often reported to be the first journalists into a war zone and the last to leave. Irons was a student at Somerville between 1918 and 1921 and a keen tennis player,… Read More »Evelyn Irons – War correspondent and Tennis Captain

In 1903 several students in their final year at Somerville got together to entertain their colleagues in College  with a ‘Going-Down Play’.  Dressed as an animal that they considered most closely resembled their nature, they appeared on stage whilst a master of ceremonies read out a verse or two describing the manner and customs of the creature.  Happily for posterity,… Read More »Rose Macaulay as a caterpillar in 1903

On Saturday 28th April 2012, one of the founders of Somerville College and its first Secretary of Council, Mary Ward (also known as Mrs Humphry Ward) was honoured in Oxford with a Blue Plaque on the house in North Oxford where she lived from 1872-1881.  Somerville Principal, Dr Alice Prochaska, spoke to the assembled company about Mary Ward’s contribution to the development… Read More »Blue Plaque for Mrs Humphry Ward

Somerville College was named after the renowned mathemetician, astronomer and scientist, Mary Somerville (1780-1872).  The College is fortunate to own her papers which were given by the descendents of Mary Somerville, the Fairfax-Lucy family. The papers are held in the Bodleian Library and for many years access to their contents has been via a typewritten list  available only at Somerville College or at the Bodleian… Read More »Mary Somerville

The first phase of this project is almost complete, with the catalogue of the collection amended and updated (in compliance with Bodleian guidelines) and the documents themselves curated and rehoused in archival-standard acid-free folders and boxes. And what a fascinating collection it is! Containing a vast array of papers relating to all aspects of Mary Somerville’s life, work and family… Read More »Updating the Mary Somerville Online Catalogue

The project to upgrade and digitise the catalogue of the papers of  Mary Somerville (1780-1872) is now complete.  For the first time, researchers all over the world will be able to have access to the complete listing of the collection which is owned by Somerville College but held by the Bodleian Library.  During the cataloguing process some interesting documents have been unearthed… Read More »Online Catalogue Complete

The recent film ‘The Railway Man’ tells the story of Eric Lomax, a British soldier captured by the Japanese in World War 2 and held in Changi Prison before being sent to work on the infamous Burma railway. As well as thousands of soldiers, around 3,000 civilians were incarcerated in Changi, including Somervillian Dr. Cicely Williams. One of the first women… Read More »Birthday in Changi Prison

As with many primary sources, the Somerville Minutes of Council were created as an official record of the institution yet they are inadvertently informative about the world outside the College walls. In the 1930s, they provide a valuable account of the response of British academia to the persecutions of the Nazi regime. Hitler’s appointment as German Chancellor in January 1933… Read More »Refugee Scholars at Somerville

In 1976 a remarkable collection of letters, books, artwork and ephemera was given to the college by a Somerville alumna, Audrey Kennet (née Withers, 1924-7) and her sister Monica. The gift was made in honour of their parents Dr Percy and Mrs Mary Withers (née Summers, Somerville, 1889-92), who were at the centre of an illustrious circle of friends including many of… Read More »A rare talent for friendship – Percy Withers

WINIFRED HOLTBY: AN INFORMED VIEW … AND A PRESCIENT ONE?Hugh Gault At the end of May 1929, and after five years of a reforming Conservative government, the first general election at which everybody aged 21 and over could vote had resulted in no clear majority.  Nationally, the Labour Party had won 287 seats in parliament against 260 for the Conservatives,… Read More »Winifred Holtby on the first Female MPs