| Where | Great Broughton Village Hall | Type of Event | Illustrated Talk |
| When | 16th September 2024 | Tutor | Catherine Warr, Historian & Film Maker |
Catherine introduced her talk by saying that she had chosen four women to focus on – their lives and achievements covering many centuries and varying fields of endeavour.
Cartimandua was the queen of the Brigantes who allied with the Romans after their invasion in AD43 which proved beneficial to both parties – she was able to retain her power, whilst the Romans avoided the need to occupy the territory. Her position was challenged by her husband, Venutius, who had opposing views on the alliance with Rome, but the Roman Governor sent a legion to support Cartimandua and preserve her rule.
Elizabeth Beecroft was born in 1748 near Otley. Her father was a tanner and her mother sold butter in the market. She started trading aged 18 with her brother, selling pots, china and butter in Leeds market. In 1775 she married George Beecroft, a farmer, and they lived at Kepstorn near Kirkstall Forge. In 1778 she persuaded her husband to buy the derelict forge, farm and mill. George managed the farm whilst Elizabeth managed the forge with great financial success. In 1780 the forge made a profit of £172 and in 1784 a profit of £952. She continue working until 1805 and died in 1812.
Catherine’s third choice was Amy Johnson, born in Hull in 1903. In 1928 she went to work at de Havilland aerodrome where she became a qualified pilot and the first woman to qualify as a mechanic. By 1930 Amy had only had her pilot’s license for a year, but inspired by other pilots breaking records, she made a solo flight from England to Australia in a Gypsy Moth. Due to extensive repairs needed to the plane mid journey she failed to break the record set by Bert Hinkler, but she was the first woman to complete the trip, and was given many accolades. In 1940 she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, flying planes to wherever they were needed. It was whilst doing this in January 1941 that her plane crashed in the Thames estuary and her body was never found.
Finally Catherine chose Flora Sandes who was born in1876 in Nether Poppleton. She trained with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry –an all women mounted paramilitary organisation learning first aid, signalling and drill. She later joined the Women’s Sick and Wounded Convoy Corps, seeing service in Serbia in 1912 during the First Balkan War. She was rejected as a nurse due to lack of qualifications at the outbreak of WW1, so instead joined the Serbian Red Cross and drove ambulances for the Serbian army. As the Serbian army admitted women she became a private, quickly advancing to corporal. In 1916 she was wounded by a grenade and received the highest order of the Serbian Military. As she could now no longer fight she spent the rest of the war running a hospit, and in 1919 she was made the first female commissioned officer in the Serbian Army.
There were several questions from the audience after the talk and Catherine was thanked for a very enjoyable informative evening.