Annie Elizabeth Helme (1874–1963)[1] was the first female mayor of the City of Lancaster in the United Kingdom (per her appointment in 1932). She was a widow and supporter of peace who took her daughter as her lady mayoress. She insisted on being called Mr Mayor.[2]
She was born Annie Elizabeth Smith in Bradford on 18 February 1874 into a Liberal family, her father was Isaac Smith, who was Mayor of Bradford in 1883 and 1885.[3] She married Walter C Helme, a physician. They had a house in Queens Square; her brother-in-law was Norval Helme (Lancaster MP).[1]
In 1911 Helme helped organize Lancaster Suffrage Society and was its joint secretary. They invited Miss Corbett, a London suffragette, to speak at their monthly meeting. With the war, her attention expanded to include war relief work. She was a committee person and served on the Board of Guardians. She was appointed as Secretary of a Central Committee of Ladies. She became a member of the Education Committee.[1]
She was the first woman to be elected onto Lancaster Borough Council in 1919, winning Castle Ward against a discharged military man. She was already well known. She was the first woman to become an alderman, becoming in 1932 Lancaster's first female mayor.[1]