Helen Rushall

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Helen M. B. Rushall

MBE
Helen Rushall.jpg
Rushall in November 1938
Born
Helen Mary Cruickshank

(1914-04-22)22 April 1914
Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire
Died15 October 1984(1984-10-15) (aged 70)
Friars Cliff, Christchurch, Dorset
Education
Spouse(s)
Richard Rushall
​
(m. 1945)​
Children2
RelativesRichard Rushall (father-in-law)

Helen Mary Boswell Rushall MBE (née Helen Mary Cruickshank, 22 April 1914 – 15 October 1984) was a British schoolteacher who helped to form the National Council of Women in Burma, an affiliate of the International Council of Women. In 1958 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her work on the council and her rehabilitation work after World War II.

Life and career[]

Helen Mary Cruickshank was born on 22 April 1914 in Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire to John Walker Cruickshank (1882–1969) and Janet Isabella Caldow (1883–1932).[1] She was the eldest of four children; her younger siblings were Jean Caldow (1916–2001), James Robert (1918–1942) and Ian Armstrong (1919–2014). Her brother James was a pilot officer with No. 239 Squadron of the Royal Air Force,[2] and died when his plane crashed in Normandy on 19 August 1924.[3] Cruickshank attended the Inverurie Academy and Aberdeen High School for Girls.[4] After completing her education, she worked as a domestic science teacher in Chesterfield.[5]

In 1945 Cruickshank married Richard Boswell Rushall, the director of Rushall & Co. Ltd., a shipping company founded by his father in Rangoon, Burma.[4] That year, she moved out to Rangoon with her husband, where they stayed for the next ten years.[5] While in Burma, she took an active role in furthering Burma-British relations by helping to form the National Council of Women in Burma, an affiliate of the International Council of Women.[1] She also worked in rehabilitation, helping to build clinics for the Burmese people.[5] During this time, Helen Rushall and her husband had two children together, a son and a daughter.[4]

The Rushall family returned to the UK in 1955. They lived in Aberdeen for two years, before moving to Christchurch, Dorset.[4] In 1958 Rushall was made an MBE as part of the New Year Honours in recognition of her work on the executive committee of the council,[6][7] as well as her rehabilitation work after World War II. She attended the investiture in Buckingham Palace on 12 March that year.[1] Rushall died on 15 October 1984 in Christchurch, at the age of 70.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "She Attended Investiture". Aberdeen Evening Express. 12 March 1958. p. 13, col. 5. (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". The London Gazette (35531). 21 April 1942. p. 1756, col. 1.
  3. ^ "Pilot Officer James Robert Cruickshank (119540) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve". RAF Commands. 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "N.E. woman helped to rehabilitate Burma". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 18 October 1984. p. 22, col. 1. (subscription required)
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "M.B.E. Award for Aberdeen Woman". Aberdeen Evening Express. 7 January 1958. p. 6, col. 3. (subscription required)
  6. ^ "The New Year Honours". The Times (54037). London. 1 January 1958. p. 4, col. 3. ISSN 0140-0460.
  7. ^ "Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood". The London Gazette (41268). 31 December 1957. p. 22, col. 1.

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