Adeline Bourne

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Adeline Bourne (January 1873 - 8 February 1965) was an Anglo-Indian actress, suffragette and charity worker.[1]

Life[]

Adeline Bourne was born in India on 8 January 1873. She was sent to private schools in Eastbourne and Blackheath, though after expulsion from three schools was educated by a governess.[2] She studied drama under Sarah Thorne, becoming a member of Thorne's company before leaving to tour America with Mrs Patrick Campbell. She then worked for J. E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker at the Court Theatre, and for Olga Nethersole.[3] At the start of the twentieth century she appeared in avant-garde and feminist plays.[2]

In 1908 she helped found the Actresses' Franchise League,[4] and served as its Joint Secretary. She set up the in 1911. In 1915 she founded the British Women's Hospital, which raised £150,000 to establish the Royal Star and Garter Home for disabled soldiers. During World War I she served abroad as an officer in Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps.[2]

Between 1915 and 1963 Bourne raised over £750,000 for different causes. For example, she raised £37,500 for the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. In 1928 she was Vice President of the 's Josephine Butler Appeal Fund. After World War II she started a women's employment organization to help women return to civilian jobs. In the mid-1950s she established the , a nursing home and hospital for older people.[2]

After Bourne's death in 1965 a fire destroyed her home in Thurston, Suffolk. Though her papers were rescued from the fire, they were subsequently destroyed in 2013.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ 'Miss Adeline Bourne: Actress and suffragette', The Times, 10 February 1965
  2. ^ a b c d Cheryl Law (2000). Women: A Modern Political Dictionary. I.B.Tauris. pp. 31–2. ISBN 978-1-86064-502-0.
  3. ^ Naomi Paxton (2018). Stage Rights!: The Actresses' Franchise League, Activism and Politics 1908-58. Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-5261-1478-5.
  4. ^ Naomi Paxton (2018). Stage Rights!: The Actresses' Franchise League, Activism and Politics 1908-58. Oxford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-5261-1478-5.
  5. ^ Naomi Paxton (2018). Stage Rights!: The Actresses' Franchise League, Activism and Politics 1908-58. Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-5261-1478-5.
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