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{{For|the ferry|MV Lady Denman}}
{{short description|British suffragette}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Baroness Denman
| honorific-suffix = [[Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire|GBE]]
| image = Lady Denman (NFWI) Chair, 1925. (22680005758) (cropped).jpg
| caption = Denman {{ca.}} 1925
| birth_name = Gertrude Mary Pearson
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1884|11|07}}
| birth_place = [[Sussex]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1954|06|02|1884|11|07}}
| death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| spouse = [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman]] {{marriage || 26 November 1903 | 1954 |end=d.}}
| parents = [[Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray]] (father)<br />[[Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray]] (mother)
| occupation = Female [[suffragette]]<br />[[Spouse of the governor-general of Australia|Vice-regal wife]]
| office = [[Spouse of the governor-general of Australia]]
| term_label = In office
| term_start = 31 July 1911
| term_end = 18 May 1914
| monarch = [[George V]]
| governor_general = [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]]
| predecessor = Countess of Dudley
| successor = Helen, Lady Munro Ferguson
}}
'''Gertrude "Trudie" Mary Denman, Baroness Denman''' {{small|[[Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire|GBE]]}} ([[née]] '''Pearson'''; 7 November 1884{{spaced ndash}}2 June 1954) was a British woman active in women's rights issues including the promotion of [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom]]. She was also the wife of Lord Denman, the [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|3rd Baron Denman]], fifth [[Governor-General of Australia]], and she officially named [[Australia]]'s capital city [[Canberra]] in 1913.
==Early life==
Nicknamed "Trudie", Pearson was the second child, and only daughter, of [[Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray|Weetman Pearson]] and [[Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray|Annie Pearson]] ({{Nee|Cass}}, later Viscount and Viscountess Cowdray).<ref>Huxley, p. 12</ref> Her father was a successful businessman, initially in engineering, and later in the development of [[oilfield]]s in [[Mexico]], the production of [[munitions]] for the [[First World War]], building the [[Sennar Dam]] on the [[Nile]], as well as coal mining and newspaper publishing.<ref>Huxley, p. 13</ref>
Pearson's father was a staunch [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] who supported causes such as [[free trade]], [[Irish Home Rule]] and [[women's suffrage]]. Her mother was the daughter of a farmer from [[Bradford]], [[Yorkshire]] and a [[feminist]] who was an active member of the executive of the [[Women's Liberal Federation]]. Annie, Viscountess Cowdray, was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|GBE]] in 1932.<ref>Huxley, pg. 15</ref>
The Pearson family had just moved to [[London]] when Trudie was born; her brother Harold was two years old. Two younger brothers, Clive and Geoffrey, were born in 1887 and 1891, respectively.<ref>Huxley, p. 17</ref> Due to the worldwide business interests of their father, the Pearson children saw little of their parents and spent their early years in the care of a [[nanny]] and a [[governess]]. In 1894, when Trudie was ten years old, her father was made a [[baronet]] and purchased Paddockhurst, a modern country house and estate in [[Sussex]].<ref>Huxley, p. 19</ref>
Trudie continued her education in London, both at a day school in [[Queen's Gate]], and later at home in [[Carlton House Terrace]] with a series of governesses, while her brothers were educated away from home at boarding school. At the age of sixteen, Trudie completed her formal education at a [[finishing school]] in [[Dresden]], [[Germany]].<ref>Huxley, p. 23</ref>
The poet, broadcaster and socialite [[Nadja Malacrida]] was her cousin.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}
==Marriage==
In 1902, Trudie met [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman]], at a ball in London. A 28-year-old Liberal peer, Lord Denman was the son of a Sussex squire and had inherited his barony from his great-uncle [[Thomas Aitchison-Denman, 2nd Baron Denman]], when he was 20. Denman had been wounded as an officer in the [[South African War]] and had returned home and entered political life.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cunneen |first=Chris |title=Thomas Denman (1874–1954) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/denman-thomas-5956 |access-date=2025-01-17 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}</ref>
Lord Denman courted the 18-year-old Trudie, who enjoyed his companionship; but when he proposed marriage she initially refused him. Under some pressure from her parents, the courtship continued, and in August 1903 the couple became engaged at [[Braemar Castle]] in [[Aberdeenshire]].<ref>Huxley, p. 28</ref> The couple was married by the [[Ernest Roland Wilberforce|Bishop of Chichester]] on 26 November 1903 at [[St. Margaret's, Westminster]].<ref>Huxley, p. 29</ref>
In 1905, Gertrude Denman gave birth to her first child, Thomas. Later that year Sir Weetman bought Trudie her own country estate, [[Balcombe Place]] in Sussex. The house, [[Balcombe Place]], was to become Denman's home for the rest of her life. Her second child, Anne Judith, later to become Lady Burrell,{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} was born at Balcombe Place in 1907.<ref>Huxley, p. 31</ref> In 1977 the historian, Brian Harrison, interviewed Burrell about her mother as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled ''Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=London School of Economics and Political Science |title=The Suffrage Interviews |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collection-highlights/the-suffrage-interviews |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Women's suffrage==
In May 1908, Lady Denman was elected to the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation. The youthful and inexperienced Trudie was joining a committee with some formidable elder members. Her mother, Lady Pearson had been on the Executive for many years together with its President [[Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle|Lady Carlisle]], [[Laura Elizabeth Pochin|Lady Aberconway]] and Mrs Broadley Reid.<ref>Huxley, p. 34</ref>
The Women's Liberal Federation busied itself with the question of women's suffrage through 1908 and into early 1909.<ref>Huxley, p. 36</ref> The question of suffrage was put on hold for the Women's Liberal Federation when the [[People's Budget]] presented by [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]] in April 1909 presented a more pressing issue for the Liberals and subsequently precipitated the [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|general election of January 1910]].{{cn|date=March 2022}}
With the election over, the Executive of the Women's Liberal Federation were able to turn again to the suffrage question, and Trudie was active in supporting the Executive's refusal to support Liberal parliamentary candidates who refused to answer the Executive's test questions on suffrage.<ref>Huxley, p. 37</ref> At the Federation's 1910 Annual meeting, she was re-elected to the Executive with an increased vote and spoke in favour of a resolution to curtail the power of veto held by the House of Lords. {{citation needed|date=September 2009}} By the end of 1910 it was clear that Lady Denman's life was about to change considerably; her husband Lord Denman, was to become the fifth [[Governor-General of Australia]] in succession to the [[Earl of Dudley]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Andrews |first1=Maggie |last2=Muggeridge |first2=Anna |date=2024-03-21 |title=Reading the silences: Trudie Denman and the women's movement in the first half of the twentieth century |journal=Women's History Review |language=en |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1080/09612025.2024.2329454 |issn=0961-2025|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Australia==
In 1911 Lord Denman was appointed [[Governor-General of Australia]]. The Denmans left London at the end of June and travelled to [[Marseille]] from where they set sail for [[Melbourne]], arriving on 31 July. The Denman children arrived later, having been sent via the [[Cape Town|Cape]] to avoid the heat of the [[Red Sea]].<ref>Huxley, p. 42</ref> The Denmans received a favourable welcome despite the tendency of the Australian press to poke fun at the English, and Lord Denman formed a cordial relationship with the Labour Government leader [[Andrew Fisher]] and his Attorney-General [[Billy Hughes]].{{citation needed|date=September 2009}}
As well as the large number of official engagements that Lady Denman was required to attend as the [[Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia|wife of the Governor-General]], she also found time to take an interest in the National Council of Women of each State. Lady Denman met the councils in all the States and encouraged them at their first interstate conference in 1912 to meet together annually so that all could work toward the same objectives.<ref>Huxley, p. 47</ref> Another area in which Lady Denman took a particular interest was that of bush nursing. Bush nursing was a service to those living in remote and scattered areas far from doctors and hospital facilities. Lady Denman's predecessor, Lady Dudley, had promoted the idea of a self-supporting scheme in each state and had started raising funds for the project. When Trudie arrived in 1911 just one nurse had been appointed; by the end of the year four nurses were at work. In 1912 she opened two new centres and the following year she presided at the Bush Nursing Association's annual meeting. By the time the Denmans left Australia, her interest and support had led to the establishment of almost twenty Bush Nursing Centres in Victoria alone.<ref name="Huxley, p. 49">Huxley, p. 49</ref>
Among her other interests was the Melbourne Repertory Theatre Club, founded by [[Gregan McMahon]], which she supported by attending productions, entertaining the company at [[Government House, Melbourne|Government House]], and aiding their efforts to raise funds.<ref name="Huxley, p. 49"/> Trudie also organised an exhibition of old furniture, silver and china held at Government House in April 1914. She collected over 500 exhibits, many from her own collections and those of her friend [[Nellie Melba]]. The exhibition was a great success with over 20,000 people attending over ten days, and the profits split between the Theatre club and the Arts and Crafts Society.<ref>Huxley, p. 50</ref>
On 11 March 1913 Lady Denman accompanied her husband and the rest of a Vice-Regal party to the Yass-Canberra district of [[New South Wales]]. The following day they were to perform the official opening ceremony of the new capital of Australia. The Minister for Home Affairs, [[King O'Malley]], was determined that a start should be made on the new capital during the Labor government's term of office, and that a formal ceremony should be held, even though the participants would have to camp out in the bush.<ref>Huxley, p. 51</ref> For some time before the ceremony itself, the name chosen for the new capital had been the subject of some controversy. Many names had been put forward, but the one chosen by the Cabinet was kept secret, even from the Governor-General, until the moment of its announcement.<ref name="Huxley, p. 52">Huxley, p. 52</ref>
[[File:Lady Denman 1913-03-12 Canberra-name.jpg|thumb|Lady Denman scans the slip of paper on which is written the name of Australia's capital, at a ceremony on 12 March 1913. The name had been kept a close secret until the ceremony. She then announced the name, Canberra. L-R: [[King O'Malley]], Minister for Home Affairs; [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[Andrew Fisher]]; and Lady Denman's husband, [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]] [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]]]]
[[File:Naming of city of canberra capital hill 1913.jpg|left|thumb|Lady Denman at the ceremony for the naming of Canberra in 1913. From the left; Lord Denman, Governor-General; Andrew Fisher, Prime Minister; Lady Denman; King O'Malley, Minister for Home Affairs]]
Five hundred official guests and almost 5,000 people travelled in special trains to witness the spectacle.<ref name="Huxley, p. 52"/> Lord Denman laid the first foundation stone, the Prime Minister and O'Malley laid the second and third stones. The moment had arrived for the naming of the new capital. As well as the choice of name there had been much discussion in the Cabinet as to how the new name should be pronounced. It was decided that whatever pronunciation Lady Denman gave when she read out the name would be the one officially adopted. At noon, Mrs O'Malley presented to Lady Denman a gold case containing a card on which the chosen name was written. Amid a fanfare of trumpets and the bands playing 'All people that on earth do dwell', she made her way to a dais. The music ceased and Lady Denman said, "I name the capital of Australia Canberra." There were loud cheers, and while the artillery fired a twenty-one gun salute, the bands played "[[Advance Australia Fair]]" and "[[God Save the King]]".<ref>Huxley, p. 53</ref> The date is now celebrated in the national capital as "[[Canberra Day]]".
While Trudie and the children accepted life in Australia, and made the most of the opportunities it had to offer, Lord Denman found it uncomfortable and his health was not good. He was frequently in bed with colds and [[asthma]], and his [[hay fever]] was especially serious on account of the pollen laden blooms of Australia's national flower, the [[Acacia pycnantha|wattle]]. Trudie Denman had an affair with one of her husband's aides, John Arnold Cuthbert Quilter (1875–1915) during this time.<ref name=":0" /> Early in November 1913, Lord Denman announced to the Colonial Secretary [[Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt|Lord Harcourt]] his desire to resign. Eventually his request was accepted and the Denmans left Australia amid a barrage of laudatory farewell addresses in May 1914.<ref>Huxley, p. 62</ref>
==World War I==
As the Denmans returned to Britain in 1914, [[World War I]] was about to start. In August, war was declared and Lord Denman took command of a regiment of the [[Middlesex Yeomanry|County of London (Middlesex) Yeomanry]]. Lady Denman involved herself with a war charity, Smokes for Wounded Soldiers And Sailors Society. The "SSS" as it was commonly known, had [[Queen Alexandra]] as its patron, and an impressive committee with [[Field-Marshal]] [[Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell|Lord Grenfell]] and [[Admiral]] [[Lord Charles Beresford]] and the wives of other leading admirals and generals among its members. The Society operated from Trudie's home at 4 Buckingham Gate, where Trudie had turned the ballroom into a packing centre. The "SSS" voluntary workers met all the hospital trains and ships and supplied all the service hospitals with free smokes.<ref>{{cite journal
| authorlink = Simon Fowler
| title = War Charity Begins at Home
| journal = History Today
| volume = 49
| pages =75–83
| date = September 1999}}</ref><ref>Huxley. p. 63</ref> Gertrude Denman became the chairman of the Society in 1916, and by the time she resigned due to other commitments in 1917, some 265 million cigarettes and other smoking materials had been distributed.<ref>Huxley, p. 63</ref>
While Lady Denman devoted a great deal of her time to the SSS, in private her youngest brother Geoffrey had been one of the first casualties of the war when he was shot trying to escape from his captors during the [[First Battle of the Marne]], and her marriage to Lord Denman continued to bring little happiness to either of them.<ref>Huxley, p. 64</ref> She enquired into the possibility of divorce but abandoned it when John Quilter died in 1915 fighting in the First World War.<ref name=":0" />
Trudie was delighted by the unexpected return from Kenya of her friend Nellie Grant (mother of [[Elspeth Huxley]]). Together they began a scheme to make use of food scraps and save food imports by encouraging the keeping of poultry. This was a popular endeavour, with families, hospitals and other institutions taking part, and resulted in Trudie becoming President of the Women's Section of the Poultry Association.<ref>Huxley, p. 69</ref><ref name="WhoLadyDenmanWI">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewi.org.uk/standard.aspx?id=12497 |title=Who was Lady Denman? |accessdate=27 May 2009 |publisher=The National Federation of Women's Institutes |___location=London |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724052613/http://www.thewi.org.uk/standard.aspx?id=12497 |archivedate=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
In the latter part of 1916, Lady Denman accepted the post of chairman of the Women's Institute Sub-Committee of the [[Agricultural Organisation Society]]. In 1917, the administration of the expanding Women's Institute movement was transferred to the Women's branch of the [[Board of Agriculture and Fisheries]] Food Production Department, which had been set up to form a [[Women's Land Army]].<ref>Hadow, p. 828</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Imperial War Museum |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380216 |website=Assistant Director Lady Denman}}</ref> Here she witnessed the organisational skills of [[Pollie Hirst Simpson]], who also served as Assistant Secretary of the [[SSAFA|Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association]]. Denman later invited Simpson to become the Midland Area organiser for the [[Women's Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Womens Institute |url=https://www.chelveston-pc.gov.uk/womens-institutue |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Chelveston-cum-Caldecott Parish Council |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Affiliations==
[[File:Lady Gertrude Denman plaque at Victory Hall, Balcombe, West Sussex, England.jpg|thumb|right|Gertrude Denman plaque at The Victory Hall, which she founded, in Balcombe, West Sussex, where she lived]]
In 1917, she became the first President of the [[National Federation of Women's Institutes]], a post she held until 1946.<ref name=WhoLadyDenmanWI /> She was the first Chairman of the [[Family Planning Association]], President of the [[Ladies' Golf Union|Ladies Golf Union]], a member of the executive committee of the [[Land Settlement Association]], a Trustee of the [[Carnegie United Kingdom Trust]], and a Director of the Westminster Press. In 1933 she was elected Vice President of the [[Royal College of Nursing]], continuing her mother's support for the organisation.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=3 Jun 1933 |title=College of Nursing Announcements |journal=Nursing Times (London, England) |volume=29 |issue=1466}}</ref>
==Women's Land Army==
During [[World War II]] she was Director of the [[Women's Land Army]].
==Damehoods==
In 1933 Lady Denman was appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)]].<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/33946/supplements/3808 Gazette Issue #33946, 2 June 1933, p.10]</ref> She was advanced to [[Order of the British Empire|Dame Grand Cross (GBE)]] in 1951; her mother, Viscountess Cowdray, had received the same honour in 1932.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/39104/supplements/10 ''London Gazette'' issue #39104, 29 December 1950, p. 10]</ref> These entitled her to be known as Dame Gertrude Denman; however, as the wife of a peer, her existing title Lady Denman subsumed this.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
==Death==
Denman died on 2 June 1954, aged 69. Her husband died 22 days later, on 24 June 1954, although they had led almost separate lives for many years.<ref name=":0" />
==Legacy==
[[Sydney Ferries Limited]] named the ''[[MV Lady Denman|Lady Denman]]'' ferry in her honour in 1911 and was used on [[Port Jackson|Sydney Harbour]] until 1979. It is now the primary attraction at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum at [[Huskisson, New South Wales]] where it was built.<ref>[http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/996163/lady-denman-complex-celebrates-20-years/ Lady Denman complex celebrates 20 years] ''South Coast Register'' 4 December 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.jervisbaymaritimemuseum.asn.au/historic-vessels.html Lady Denman Ferry] Jervis Bay Maritime Museum</ref> Other naming honours include: Lady Denman Drive, a major arterial road in Canberra and [[Denman College]], the college of the [[Women's Institutes|National Federation of Women's Institutes]]. {{ACTcity|Denman Prospect}}, a [[Suburbs of Canberra|Canberra suburb]], was named in 2012 in honour of Lady Denman and Lord Denman.<ref name=gaz>{{cite web |url=http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/tools_resources/place_search2?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYyMDMuOS4yNDkuMyUyRlBsYWNlTmFtZXMlMkZQbGFjZURldGFpbHMuYXNweCUzRm9iamVjdElEJTNENjYyMTImYWxsPTE%3D |title=Search for street and suburb names: Denman Prospect |work=[[Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate (Australian Capital Territory)|Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate]] |publisher=[[Government of the Australian Capital Territory|ACT Government]] |date=4 December 2013 |accessdate=22 December 2013 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120004/http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/tools_resources/place_search2?sq_content_src=+dXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYyMDMuOS4yNDkuMyUyRlBsYWNlTmFtZXMlMkZQbGFjZURldGFpbHMuYXNweCUzRm9iamVjdElEJTNENjYyMTImYWxsPTE%3D |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}
==References==
* [http://www.womens-institute.org.uk/archive/ladydenman.shtml National Federation of Women's Institutes; article on Lady Denman]
* {{cite journal
| last =Hadow
| first =Grace
| title =Women's Institutes
| journal =Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture
| volume =XXV
| issue =
| pages =827–33
| ___location =London
| year =1918
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Huxley
| first=Gervas
| authorlink=Huxley family#Gervas Huxley CMG MC .281894.E2.80.931978.3F.29
| title=Lady Denman, G.B.E.
| year=1961
| publisher=Chatto & Windus
| ___location=London
|page=205pp
}}
* {{cite book
| last =Sackville-West
| first =Vita
| authorlink =Vita Sackville West
| title =The Women's Land Army
| publisher =Michael Joseph
| year =1944
| ___location =London
}}
* {{cite book
| last =Twinch
| first =Carol
| title =Women on the Land: Their story during two world wars
| publisher =The Lutterworth Press
| year =1990
| ___location =Cambridge
| isbn =0-7188-2814-3
| page =162
}}
* {{cite book
| last =Tyrer
| first =Nicola
| title =They Fought in the Fields. The Women's Land Army: The Story of a Forgotten Victory
| publisher =[[Sinclair-Stevenson]]
| year =1996
| ___location =London
| isbn =1-85619-554-6
| page =243}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Gertrude Denman, Baroness}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:British baronesses by marriage]]
[[Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Daughters of viscounts]]
[[Category:Politicians from London]]
[[Category:Spouses of Australian governors-general]]
[[Category:Women's Land Army members of World War II]]
[[Category:Denman family|Gertrude]]
[[Category:Pearson family]]
[[Category:People from Balcombe, West Sussex]]
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