Wokingham Afternoon Women’s Institute

AT A recent meeting, our members represented women who they consider had outstanding or ordinary lives but have their place alongside the great movers of the fight for women’s suffrage.

I portrayed Lilian Bland, an aviator, and the first woman in the world to fly and who built her own aeroplane.

She was born in

Maidstone in Kent in 1878. Around the turn of the century, she began working as a journalist and press photographer for various London newspapers. She lived an unconventional lifestyle for the period, smoking, wearing trousers and practising martial arts. When her father died the family moved to Belfast.

Her uncle Robert sent her a postcard of the Blériot monoplane, inspiring her to take up flying. To make an aircraft would involve building it herself – so she did.

From this, she progressed to a full-scale glider, which was built from spruce, bamboo and canvas. The resulting Mayfly was tested by gliding it from Carnmoney Hill. Bland ordered a 20 horsepower two stroke Avro engine and it arrived in Carnmoney in July.

The Mayfly became the first powered biplane in Ireland.

By April 1911 she was running a car dealership in Belfast which became very successful, Lilian doing a lot of the repairs. She married her cousin and emigrated to Canada where they became farmers.

Bland returned to Kent in 1935 and in the 1950s retired to Cornwall where she died aged 92 in 1971.

Second, in the tableau, was Jackie Stevens who told us about Margaret, a 70-year-old woman born in Easthampstead, and about her family experience in the fight for Universal Suffrage.

The third speaker was Martine who spoke in the first person about her subject, Lillian, who was 30.

Susan was Sarah Gilbert, a member of Evenden Womens Institute.

Susan gave an overview of life in rural Berkshire.

Number five was Maria who played Lady Astor.

Sixth was Jane Bingham who, as Vera Anderson, talked about being a member of the Voluntary

Aid Detachment in Wokingham.

Seventh was Monica who told the story of Lady

GaGa – not the celebrity we know today, but Monica’s grandmother, who was called

Lil, and a rather grand lady living in a large house in one of the best suburbs in Leeds.

Her story unravelled when Lily’s husband William died.

Number eight was Marie Lloyd and Jan who taught us about a Queen of the Music Hall.