May Kendall, Writer and Researcher with B.S. Rowntree
May Kendall 4 December (1861 – 1943) born in Bridlington, the youngest of four children of Rev. James Kendall, a Wesleyan minister and Eliza Goldworth Kendall. The family moved frequently due to their father’s work but in 1890 when he retired, they settled in York. May remained in York after the deaths of her parents. From 1887 […]
Herstory.York partnership with York Museums Trust
Herstory.York is delighted to be partnering with York Museums Trust (YMT) from April 2021. Phillip Newton from YMT said: “This is a new long term relationship for York Museums Trust and we are excited to work together on raising awareness of the impact women have made on the city, as well as uncovering stories in […]
Helen Crews, Director of Plant and Bee Health
Helen Crews joined the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in December 2014 as Director of Plant and Bee Health after a long career in scientific research and corporate management. After retiring, she was given an OBE for services to Plant and Bee Health and voluntary services to the community in York. Helen grew up […]
Sue Sykes, Musician and Band Conductor
Sue’s dad was a lorry driver and her mum a cleaner. Her father was a POW in Poland for three and a half years having been captured after Dunkirk. In the camp her father began an education programme and found he was able to absorb information at a high level. This opened up a world […]
Alison Owbridge, Bus Driver
In 2014 Alison was hailed as the country’s top female bus driver. She started working in the bus industry in York in 1988. The bus driver contest involved about 120 drivers from across the UK, who had each been successful in local competitions to claim their place at the finals. Competitors were tested on all […]
Joan Maw, Air Raid Warden
On the 28th October 1940 the Luftwaffe bombed the city of York. The A.R.P. report of this raid states that Miss Joan Maw of No.41 Elmfield Avenue was commended for ‘special comment’. Census records of 1939 show that Joan Maw was only 19 years old at the time of this raid. She was living with […]
Haleh Afshar, Crossbench Peer
Haleh Afshar (BA York, PhD University of Cambridge) teaches Politics and Women’s Studies at the University of York and serves as a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. In 2005 she was awarded an OBE for services to equal opportunities. She was born and raised in Iran where she worked as a journalist and […]
Florence Umpleby, Teacher
Florence was the spinster daughter of Thomas, a Railway Porter, and Ann Umpleby of 214 Burton Stone Lane, York. She was an Assistant Mistress at Shipton Street Council School where she had been employed for nearly twenty years and had gained a reputation as a very capable and painstaking teacher. Her sister, Mabel, was a […]
Plummer Sisters, Milliners
The two Plummer daughters bearing the business name, Emma, born 1856 and Alexandra Annie, born 1864 were set up in their millinery business by their family. They had two millinery shops in York, one in Church Street and one in Feasegate. Plummer Sisters Millinery is featured in Kirkgate, the victorian street in the Castle Museum. […]
Rana Nasr, Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon
When meeting Miss Nasr, as a patient or interviewer, you are immediately struck by her amazing smile and the calmness about her. You feel safe. As I told her at our interview, this is very important when you know that soon you will be lying unconscious and she will have something very sharp in her […]