HONOURS FOR WOMEN

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1937, Page 14

HONOURS FOR WOMEN

THEIR HISTORY.

ORDERS WHICH ARE OPEN. Twenty-five years or so ago the opportunities afforded to women for playing their part in public life were ao limited that it was seldom that the name of a woman was to be found in any Honours List.

On very rare occasions a woman was created a peeress, which was somewhat of an anomaly, considering that even to-day peeresses in their own right cannot take their seats in the Upper Chamber, and the Queen Consort was usually appointed a Lady of the Order of the Garter. But apart from these distinctions, and certain decorations not ranking as Orders, the only honour available for bestowal upon women was the Imperial C\der of the Crown of India, says a writer in "The Queen." This Order was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1878 and is confined to women.

The Orders of St. John of Jerusalem and of Mercy are, of course, awarded to women, but as they do not confer any rank, style, title or precedence, and appointments are not made by recommendation through the usual official channels they cannot be placed in the same category.

New Order for War Services. The magnificent services rendered by women during the war, however, made some additional means of public recognition of their work almost a necessity, and in June, 1917, was instituted the Order of the British Empire, which is open equally to men and women. The Order ranks next to and immediately after the Royal Victorian Order, and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commanders are entitled to use the appellation of "Dame" before their Christian or first names, in the same way as Knights of the various Orders are styled "Sir." The first list of women to Tie appointed to the Order contained many names, at the head of which was that of the Hon. Lady Lawley, who became Lady Wenlock on the succession of her husband to the Wenlock Barony in 1931. She received the G.B.E. for her valuable work as secretary of Queen Mary's Needlework Guild. It should be mentioned, however, that Queen Mary was really the first? Dame Grand Cross, as she attended the first investiture wearing the insignia, having previously received the Order from the King.

Others who were gazetted G.B.E. at the same time were Lady Paget, wife of the Right Hon. Sir Ralph Paget, then British Minister at Copenhagen; Lady Reid, whose husband was the Right Hon. Sir George Reid. Prime Minister of Australia, 1904-05, and afterwards M.P. for; St. George's, Hanover Square; and Mrs. .'Charles Furse, Commandant of the Womett's V.A.D., and afterwards Directcjr oiphe Women's Royal Naval Service. Dame Katherine Furse is now prominently identified with the girl guide movement, in which she is director of the World Bureau.

Other Recipients. Those who received the DJB.fi.' (of the Civil Division) at the same time as Lady Londonderry were . Harlot. Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, who is also a Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert and of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India; Lady Byron, who becante . Lady Houston; the Hon. Mrs. Lyttelton, who was afterwards promoted a G.8.E.; and Mrs. Charles Lees, who for many years played a distinguished part in the public life of Oldhain. Garrett Anderson, the famous woman surgeon, is the senior woman C.8.E., whilst Miss Ethel Birkin, who did valuable work for the Red Cross, is the first of the 0.8.E.'5, aad Miss Rachael Ard, of the M.B.E.'s. For those who have done conspicuous national service and for whom an honour dissociated from the acceptance of a title was deemed the most appropriate form of recognition, King George instituted, also in 1017, the Order of the Companions of Honour, which, although permitting the recipients to put the initials C.H. after their names, carries with it no precedence; women are eligible equally with men, and excluding the hon. members, tbe number of persons upon whom it may be conferred is limited to 50. Maud Evelyn, Marchioness of Lansdowne was the first woman to receive this new Order, and as she was already a Lady of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert and of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, and subsequently became a G.8.E., it will be seen that she received every Order open to a woman. Lady Lansdowne, who was a daughter of the first Duke of Abercorn, died in 1932.

Miss Elizabeth Haldane. Other women whose names appear in the first list of appointments to the C.H. were Miss Elizabeth Haldane, who, was prominently identified with tlis Territorial Army Nursing Service and Queen Alexandra's Nursing Board, and tbe first Scottish woman to become a justice of the peace; Mrs. Harold Tennant, who served in the Ministry of Munitions and the Ministry of National Service during the war; and Mrs. James Carruthere, who was deputy-director of I the. women's section in the Ministry of National Service. When women became eligible for election to Parliament under the Representation of the People Act, 1918, the way became open to them to hold office in the Government. It was not, however, untilll years later that the first woman reached Cabinet rank. This was Miss Margaret Bond field, then Labour M.P. fpr Wallsend, who became Minister of Labour on the formation of the second Labour Government in June, 1929. Aβ it is customary for all members of the Cabinet to become Privy Councillors, Miss Bondfield was sworn of that body, thus, becoming the first woman P.C. As such, Miss Bondfield's relative rank in the scale of precedence ie higher than that of baronets and their wives and, of course, of all grades of the Order of tbe British Empire. .

Although it will be seen that there are many honours open to women, all the Orders of Knighthood, except that of the British Empire and the Garter. : are still reserved for . men, but the increasingly large part, taken; by women in social and political: life may lead to Its being thought desirable to extend eome other Order snch/as" the Royal Victorian to include women, or possibly even to create some new Order to which ™iey can be admitted. '