Helen Shaw (Unionist politician)

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

Helen Brown Shaw

MBE
Member of Parliament
for Bothwell
In office
27 October 1931 – 13 November 1935
Prime MinisterStanley Baldwin
Preceded byJoseph Sullivan
Succeeded byJames C. Welsh
Personal details
Born
Helen Brown Graham[1]

2 June 1879
Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Died20 April 1964(1964-04-20) (aged 84)
Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Political partyUnionist Party

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3] 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.[3]

References
  1. Maver, Irene (23 September 2004). "Shaw [née Graham], Helen Brown (1879–1964), politician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70454. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1901 Scotland Census
  3. Ewan, Elizabeth L.; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Sian; Pipes, Rose (8 March 2006). The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2660-1.
  4. "Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame". www.engineeringhalloffame.org. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Joseph Sullivan		 Member of Parliament for Bothwell
1931–1935		 Succeeded by
James C. Welsh


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