Papers of Winifride Wrench

The archive consists of a list of names and a caricature (1917); press cutting and list of names of British delegation (1919); correspondence related to the Overseas League in Scotland and the English Speaking Union and Mother's Institute; one letter from Sylvia Pankhurst (1920-1938); Christmas Card for the Canadian Women's Institute (1939).

Winifred Wrench (fl.1919-1938) was a member of an English family; she was educated at home and then in Germany before becoming a journalist. She was a member of the party that visited Lille in Apr 1919 to see and report on the ruined state of Northern France after the First World War, attending as the representative of the English Speaking Union and Babies of the Empire. She was interested in child welfare throughout her life and was the organiser of the first National Baby Week as well as being the founder of the Mothercraft Training Society. However, by 1925 she had also become concerned with the issue of divorce law at the same time as continuing her association with the Overseas League, acting as the organising secretary for Scotland from 1928 to 1933. In 1934 she was resident in Edinburgh and described herself as a member of the All Peoples Association, a freelance journalist, lecturer and social worker. She remained a member of the English Speaking Union, the Women's Institute and the National Council of Women, the Soroptimists' Club, the Federation of Business & Professional Women and editor of Scottish Home and Country. She appears to have spent some time in Tangiers in Morocco in 1938.

This collection is partially available for research. The catalogued portion of the collection is available for research, uncatalogued material remains unavailable. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

Gift from Winifred Myers, 1978 and 2004

Fawcett Library Catalogue

The records of the Mothercraft Training Society (1937-52) are held by the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine; the papers of the English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth are still held by the organisation itself.