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Vera Laughton Mathews

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Dame Vera Laughton Mathews
Birth nameElvira Sibyl Marie Laughton
Born(1888-09-25)25 September 1888
Hammersmith, London
Died25 September 1959(1959-09-25) (aged 71)
Ashley Gardens, London
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchWomen's Royal Naval Service
Years of service1918–1919
1939–1946
RankDirector
CommandsWomen's Royal Naval Service (1939–46)
Battles / warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire (1942)
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1945)
RelationsSir John Knox Laughton (father)

Dame Elvira Sibyl Marie Mathews, DBE (née Laughton; 25 September 1888 – 25 September 1959),[1] known as Vera Laughton Mathews, was a British military officer and administrator. She was the second Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), serving from its reformation in 1939 until 1946.

Early life and family

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Elvira Sibyl Marie Laughton was born in Hammersmith, London, on 25 September 1888 to Sir John Knox Laughton and María Josefa de Alberti of Cadiz, Spain. She had three brothers and one sister, Grace Laughton Bell. Mathews was educated at Catholic schools: the Convent of St Andrew (in Streatham) and at Tournai (in Belgium).[1] Later, she attended King's College London.[2]

Vera Laughton was married to Gordon Mathews from 10 June 1924 until his death in 1943; they had two sons and one daughter.[2]

Military career

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Mathews joined the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) on its establishment in 1918, and was appointed to the rank of principal officer (equivalent to a Royal Navy lieutenant commander).[citation needed]

She was initially the Unit Officer of the WRNS Training Depot at The Crystal Palace in south London;[3] the Depot was wound up immediately after the Armistice was signed in November 1918 as recruitment had ceased and she went on to serve in various posts on the east coast of Britain until demobilisation in 1919.

She was reappointed as the director of the reformed WRNS in 1939 with Ethel Goodenough as her deputy.[4] Goodenough died in 1946 from polio[5] and Mathews retired in 1947.[4]

The Vera Laughton Mathews' Award charity was created on 21 March 1969 with the aim of supporting the education and training of the daughters of former WRNS personnel. The charity was disbanded in 2012.[6]

Political campaigning and journalism

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Mathews joined the WSPU as a young woman, and in 1911 joined the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society (later the St Joan's Social and Political Alliance), and was Chair of the Alliance between 1932 and 1939.[4]

In 1914, she was appointed acting Editor of The Suffragette magazine. She also worked on the magazine Time and Tide, which had been launched by Lady Rhondda in 1920.[4]

Post-war career

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After her retirement from the WRNS, Dame Vera was asked by the post-war Labour government to sit on a number of industry committees. She chaired the Domestic Coal Consumers' Council between 1947 and 1950.[7] She was the first woman to work in the management of the gas industry, as a member of the South-Eastern Gas Board between 1949 and 1959.[4] She also served as an advisor on Women's Affairs to the National Gas Council. In 1958, she was appointed President of the British Federation of Business and Professional Women.[8]

Affiliations

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  • Girl Guide Commissioner
  • Skipper of Sea Rangers
  • Chairman, St. Joan's Social and Political Alliance (1932-1939)
  • Chairman, Domestic Coal Consumers' Council (1947–1950)
  • President, National Smoke Abatement Society (1949–1951)
  • Member of the South-Eastern Gas Board (SEGAS) (1949–1959)
  • Adviser on Women's Affairs to the Gas Council
  • Life President, Association of Wrens
  • President, St. Joan's International Social and Political Alliance
  • Chair of the Status of Women Committee, St. Joan's Social and Political Alliance
  • President, Mermaid Swimming Club
  • Member, Council Girl Guides Association
  • President, British Federation of Business and Professional Women

Autobiography

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Blue Tapestry, published by Hollis & Carter in London, 1948

References

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  1. ^ a b "Dame V. Laughton Mathews". The Times. No. 54577. London. 28 September 1959. p. 12. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  2. ^ a b Vera Laughton Mathews, Blue Tapestry (1986) e-book edition by BakerSteele Publishing (2018)
  3. ^ "Encyclopedia.com – Mathews, Vera Laughton". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Mathews, Dame Elvira Sibyl Maria [Vera] Laughton (1888–1959), director of the Women's Royal Naval Service". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34937. Retrieved 11 October 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ "Goodenough, Ethel Mary [Angela] (1900–1946), naval officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62330. Retrieved 11 October 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ^ "Vera Laughton Mathews' Award". charitycommission.gov.uk. Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Membership of the Councils 1948". Hansard. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. ^ Perriton, Lynda (2004). "Forgotten feminists: The Federation of British Professional and Business Women, 1933-1969" (PDF). White Rose Research Online. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
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