Standing up for birds
I read ‘Flying Feathers’ by Tessa Boase (September 2018) with real interest and I am sure that there are many women members of the RSPB, myself included, who would cherish proper recognition of its women founders. The article highlighted yet again the institutionalised misogyny that existed between and after both world wars in the UK. The activist women who organised against the slaughter of birds for the hat trade were operating within a very restricted environment and it is to their credit that they stood up against significant commercial interest and prevalent fashion. They should be lauded for that. It is good that Etta Lemon’s portrait is hanging in RSPB headquarters: she deserves it. Vivienne Walker, via email