34 Facts About Vera Holme

Vera Holme became the Pankhursts' chauffeur and the first professional woman driver in London.

In 1923, Vera Holme returned to Britain and began to perform again, moving to Scotland with two fellow veterans of the SWH.

Vera Holme became a speaker and lecturer for the Women's Rural Institutes and managed and produced plays in the region.

Vera Holme remained in a relationship with Greenlees until the latter died in 1952.

Vera Holme's archive is held by the Women's Library at the London School of Economics.

Vera Holme was born on 29 August 1881 in Birkdale, Lancashire, England.

Vera Holme's parents were Mary Louisa and Richard Holme.

Vera Holme was close to her brother Gordon, who later named his son and daughter Jack and Vera in her honour.

Vera Holme's parents separated when she was a teenager and her mother remarried.

Vera Holme decided on acting because of her admiration for actress Ellen Terry and her daughter Edith Craig.

Vera Holme toured with travelling theatrical companies for several years and had no permanent address.

Vera Holme became a member of the women's chorus in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's Gilbert and Sullivan London Repertory Seasons at the Savoy Theatre in London, performing each season between 1906 and 1909.

Vera Holme joined the league in 1908 and began singing with suffragettes outside Holloway Prison to support women who had been arrested and locked up for suffrage protests.

Vera Holme joined the Pioneer Players, formed by Craig in 1911, performing until 1915.

From this time, Vera Holme transitioned to using Jack as her identification, although it was not a strict adherence.

One such escapade involving Vera Holme was when she hid in the large organ of a public hall in Bristol in May 1909.

Vera Holme waited there overnight with Elsie Howie with the objective of shouting "Votes for Women" at a political address by a Liberal Party MP the next day.

Vera Holme was featured in the trade journal The Chauffeur in 1911, which praised her mechanical and driving skill, which brought her to international attention.

An accomplished horsewoman, Vera Holme often rode astride when leading suffrage parades.

Haverfield and Vera Holme began living together in Devon in 1911 and would remain partners until Haverfield's death in 1920.

On 22 November 1911, Vera Holme was arrested for stone throwing and obstructing the police.

Vera Holme was imprisoned for five days in Holloway Prison, where she made sketches of her cell and confinement.

At the start of the war in 1914, Vera Holme joined Haverfield's Women's Volunteer Reserve, as a major of the 1st London Battalion, of the WVR.

Vera Holme served as an ambulance driver and oversaw both the motorised and horsedriven vehicles.

In 1917 Vera Holme was sent back to England to carry a personal message from Dr Elsie Inglis to Lord Derby, the Secretary of State for War.

In 1918, in recognition of her work with the SWH, Vera Holme was awarded the Samaritan Cross by the King of Serbia, and a medal for Meritorious Service by Russia.

At the time, Vera Holme was living in Kirkcudbright, and having an affair with the artist Dorothy Johnstone.

Vera Holme joined Haverfield in Serbia in 1919, and before creating the new orphanage, they reorganised an existing orphan's facility in Uzice.

Vera Holme maintained links with Serbia after Haverfield's death in 1920, exchanging letters for decades with Onslow and Rojc.

In 1923, Vera Holme moved back to Scotland with Greenlees and Ker, and Onslow moved to Zagreb with her partner, the Croatian painter Nasta Rojc.

Vera Holme was a frequent speaker and lecturer for the Women's Rural Institutes, which she, Greenlees and Ker all supported from its creation around 1923.

Vera Holme performed at the Barn Theatre in Small Hythe, where memorial productions were given annually for Ellen Terry by Craig.

Vera Holme died on 1 January 1969 in Glasgow from arteriosclerosis and kidney failure.

Vera Holme's archive is held at the Women's Library at the LSE, which contains both her papers and a large collection of photographs.