Month: January 2016

For the next post in my series of explorers and adventurers I knew I wanted to write about one of the many intrepid women from the early 20th century who set off into the unknown. This was a period when women were offered more freedom in life, especially those from the upper classes with independent wealth. Newspapers and society magazines were fascinated by the tales of women who left behind the comforts of their life in England to travel the world, sometimes to places few Westerners had been before. As strong-willed, independent women they do not always come across as the most likeable but I can’t help but admire their tenacity and spiritedness. Continue reading “Lady Richmond Brown: Adventurer, Archaeologist and Angler”

Marjorie Elaine Foster (1893-1974) began shooting at the age of eight at her home in Surrey, England. In the mid-1920s she decided to pursue the sport more seriously and joined the South London Rifle Club, which was the only club that accepted women at that time. The first record of her competing is in 1926 where she performed well for someone new to the competitive world of rifle-shooting.

The pinnacle of her sporting career was in 1930 when she beat over 1,000 competitors to became the first woman ever to win the prestigious King’s Prize at the National Rifle Championships at Bisley. The competition, which began in 1860, was open to all past and present members of the Armed Forces. Marjorie was eligible to compete because she volunteered as a driver with the Women’s Legion. Continue reading “Marjorie Foster: prize-winning rifle shot and poultry farmer”

This series of photographs of Australian dancing sensation (and surfer) Ivy Shilling follows on from the main blog as a means of showing some of the other lovely photographs that appeared i the illustrated press at the time. If you missed the main blog you can have a read here.

Continue reading “Ivy Shilling in portraits”