Mary Stocks, 1891-1975

the long version

The life of Mary Stocks was one of public service and national achievement. She was a champion of many causes - women's rights and higher education, Socialism, family planning and the National Health Service. She found time for pioneering birth-control clinics, writing plays and biographies and serving as the 'statutory woman' on government committees. Among her friends were Nancy Astor, Marie Stopes and Lord Beveridge. She became Principal of Westfield College (University of London) and won a national reputation as a popular broadcaster, especially on Any Questions and Woman's Hour. At the age of 75, she entered the House of Lords as a Labour Life Peer.