Wales 24th Purple Plaque and the first in Barry is set to be unveiled on Friday to mark the achievements of Beatrice Lewis.
Beatrice was a working-class woman who came from a life of hardship as the wife of a ‘coal trimmer’ to become the first woman ever elected as a councillor in Barry in 1919.
Before Beatrice, working-class women in Barry had had no voice and no one to speak up for them.
Beatrice changed things. Her obituary described her as, “one of the leading women of the Socialist party of South Wales, who almost single handedly championed the establishment of a maternity clinic in Barry. She was progressive in thought and action, forceful in debate and commanded the respect of her fellow councillors.”
Born in Ely in 1877, one of nine children, both her father and husband were coal trimmers – these were dirty and dangerous jobs. It was a world where women were left at home to do the hard domestic labour and look after large families. Beatrice married at age 20 and moved to the docks area of Barry, where poverty and disease were rife.
Beatrice saw the problem at first hand - in one month alone, 22 babies under one year died and infant mortality was rising rapidly - and set about finding a solution.
Beatrice campaigned to improve maternity provision, against the opposition of her male colleagues, and highlighted cruel means testing of pregnant and nursing mothers. She championed the establishment of a maternity clinic in Barry. Women turned up at her door and she fed them. She organised a soup kitchen and led the relief committee for the 1926 General Strike.
She sat on committees covering health, education, housing and child welfare and was instrumental in improving maternity services for Barry women. Beatrice understood the community she represented and spoke up for those without a voice.
Beatrice died in 1929, aged 52, leaving five surviving children.
Steve Jones, Beatrice’s grandson, who will be attending the unveiling event, said: "We are all very proud of the fact that Beatrice is going to be honoured with a Purple Plaque. She was the wife and daughter of coal trimmers and it was a hard life but she found the energy and drive to get herself elected so she could improve the lot of others like her. Being the first woman elected to Barry Urban District Council is quite amazing, given the circumstances and the different times then."
Sue Essex, chair of Purple Plaques Wales, said “She was the first female councillor in Barry and she campaigned steadfastly for better living conditions and to improve the welfare of women and children in the difficult years of the 1920s. Beatrice understood the community she represented and spoke up for those without a voice.”
Jane Hutt, the former Member of the Senedd for the Vale of Glamorgan, said “Beatrice was a tireless campaigner and advocate for social reform. I am delighted that we have our first Purple Plaque in Barry to honour her as our first woman councillor and a role model for myself and so many other women politicians.”
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