| Alice Acland | |
| Birth Name: | Alice Sophia Cunningham |
| Birth Date: | 3 February 1849 |
| Birth Place: | Heath Lodge, Petersfield, Hampshire, England |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Nationality: | British |
| Partner: | Arthur Dyke Acland (m. 1873) |
| Known For: | Founder of the Co-operative Women's Guild |
| Occupation: | Activist in women's rights and the cooperative movement, general secretary and President of Co-operative Women's Guild |
Lady Alice Sophia Acland (; 3 February 1849 – 5 July 1935) was the founder, the first General Secretary and the first president of the Co-operative Women's Guild.
Alice Acland was born on 3 February 1849 to Reverend Francis Macaulay Cunningham and Alice Charlotte Poore. She grew up in Hampshire and Oxford, and received a church education. She married Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet on 14 June 1873, with whom she later had two sons and a daughter.[1]
Alice's husband was an advocate for educational opportunities for working-class men. She travelled with him on speaking tours which led to her own involvement in providing more opportunities for working-class women. She noted the value of The Cooperative Movement and its potential to provide opportunities for women, as women held purchasing power for their households.[2] [3]
Acland began writing articles about women's lives for Cooperative News. On 6 January 1883, Cooperative News editor Samuel Bamford created the column Women's Corner and appointed Acland as editor. Her first appeal set in motion women's role in the Cooperative movement, stating:
Her column's popularity led to coordination of the Women's League for the Spread of Co-operation, soon after renamed the Co-operative Women's Guild.[4] Formation of a central board and meeting space for women was proposed in a letter to Women's Corner from "M.L. Woolwich", a pseudonym of Mary Lawrenson who became a co-founder of the Guild. The Guild was formally inaugurated in June 1883. Acland served as General Secretary of the guild in 1883, but resigned from the position due to ill-health. She served as President from 1884–1886, again resigning due to further health problems.