Helen Shaw (politician) explained

Helen Brown Shaw
Constituency Mp:Bothwell
Term Start:27 October 1931
Term End:13 November 1935
Primeminister:Stanley Baldwin
Predecessor:Joseph Sullivan
Successor:James C. Welsh
Birth Name:Helen Brown Graham[1]
Birth Date:2 June 1879
Birth Place:Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Death Place:Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Party:Unionist Party
Children:Anne Gillespie Shaw, Gavin Shaw

Helen Brown Shaw, MBE (née Graham; 2 June 1879 – 20 April 1964) was a Unionist Party politician in Scotland.

Career

Shaw was active during World War I, chairing charities such as the Lanarkshire Prisoners of War Relief Committee. She was made an MBE in 1920. In 1930, she was the first woman to be elected to Lanarkshire County Council.

In the Conservative landslide of 1931, Shaw was elected Member of Parliament for the normally Labour seat of Bothwell. She held the seat until 1935, when it was regained by Labour. As an MP, she worked for improved condition in the Lanarkshire mines, and to bring new industries to the area. In 1938, she became district administrator of the WVS for air raid precautions, West of Scotland.

Personal life

Shaw was the daughter of Annie Gillespie and David Graham, born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 2 June 1879.[3] She married Major David Shaw of the 6th Cameronians on 18 September 1879. He was killed in action in Festubert, France in World War I. They had a daughter and a son. Her daughter, Anne Gillespie Shaw CBE, was a time and motion expert, and production engineer.[4] Her son, Gavin Shaw, was president of the Bothwell Unionist Association, and was killed in action in World War II.

Notes and References

  1. Maver . Irene . Shaw [née Graham], Helen Brown (1879–1964), politician . 23 September 2004 . 10.1093/ref:odnb/70454 . en.
  2. 1901 Scotland Census
  3. Book: Ewan. Elizabeth L.. Innes. Sue. Reynolds. Sian. Pipes. Rose. The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. 8 March 2006. Edinburgh University Press. 978-0-7486-2660-1.
  4. Web site: Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. www.engineeringhalloffame.org. 21 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171021220236/http://www.engineeringhalloffame.org/profile-shaw-temp.html. 21 October 2017. dead.