12 Facts About Violet Markham

Violet Rosa Markham was a writer, social reformer, campaigner against women's suffrage and administrator.

Violet Markham's mother was a daughter of Sir Joseph Paxton, designer of the Crystal Palace, the centrepiece of the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Violet Markham was a member of the Chesterfield Education Authority from 1899 to 1934, and in 1902 she was the founder President of the Chesterfield Settlement, an educational foundation for the local community which existed until 1958.

Violet Markham organised an all-night canteen for the poor of South London.

Violet Markham was on the appeal tribunal of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, and in 1942, she was asked to produce a report on allegations of immorality in the women's services.

Violet Markham was elected as a town councillor for Chesterfield in 1924, and served as the first female Mayor of Chesterfield in 1927.

Violet Markham addressed an anti-suffrage meeting at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 February 1912 which had been organised by the National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage.

Violet Markham sent him money on a number of occasions, notably after his electoral defeat in 1911, and again to provide medical treatment for his brother who was suffering from tuberculosis.

In 1915, Violet Markham married Lieutenant-Colonel James Carruthers, but she continued to be known by her maiden name.

Violet Markham accompanied her husband to Cologne, when he was stationed there as chief demobilisation officer for the British Army of the Rhine, following the First World War.

Violet Markham's husband was a racehorse owner, who died suddenly at Ayr Racecourse in 1936.

Violet Markham wrote several books, including Paxton and the Bachelor Duke, a biography of her grandfather, her autobiography, Return Passage, and Friendship's Harvest.