Muriel Craigie, OBE (1889–1971) was a leading Scottish suffragist, honoured by two nations as a major volunteer organiser in both World Wars, and a 'noted educationist' during local authority education reforms.
She was headquarters' organiser for the World War I Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service first Serbian unit, for which she was awarded the Serbian Red Cross medal. For her role as Scotland's Recruiting Controller for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1919.
In World War II, she led the Women's Voluntary Services for Civil Defence in Montrose and district, and organised comfort supplies for the troops and civil evacuation of children and other vulnerable people from the industrial cities. She was the only woman on the 7-person Invasion Committee.
Craigie became the British National Townswomen's Guild vice-president (1951-1954), and in total served 25 years, from launching Montrose branch to leading the North East Scotland Federation.
Craigie was the first woman to convene any Angus county education sub-committee. Before and after the Education Act, she served education policy work for twenty years as a 'noted educationist.'
Personal life Born Catherine Muriel Craigie in 1889, known as Muriel; her father William Craigie was the town firemaster, and she had a sister Rhoda Craigie. They lived at 5 Erskine Street, Montrose.
Her father had worked with his brother in a wood merchants and joinery business before that, but when he died in 1936, he had served as the firemaster for 37 years; his funeral led by a fire engine, with Muriel and her sister as pall-bearers, supported by fire crews and local dignitaries.
Craigie attended the Montrose Academy, where she performed well, winning class prizes in history, English and sewing, and physical drill. In later life she was to become the first woman ever to preside over the Academy's prize-giving ceremony. In sports, she won an open handicap children's competition medal at golf (Luiskill medal), and played for the Academy Girls hockey team. She attended and successfully studied scripture at the St. George's United Free Church.
As an adult, she lived with her sister at the same address, and attended St. George's and Trinity Church; she served in leadership roles during both World Wars, and in the community of Montrose, for the causes of women's suffrage, relief to troops and children's wellbeing and county education committees and took on national roles in the Townswomen's Guild.
She died at Stracathro Hospital, on 9 December 1971, aged 82
Suffrage activism
By 1913, Craigie was presiding over or speaking at meetings of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and organising events in different parts of the country. In March 1913, speaking to the Women's Cooperative Guild in Dundee, in May, with Alice Compton at Frenchie and Falkland. And she had co-organised the NUWSS 'Franchise Fortnight' speaker tour for leaders including Muriel Matters, Louisa Lumsden, Margaret Aldersley, Geraldine Cooke, Margaret Robertson and Bessie MacNicol across at least twelve towns in the kingdom of Fife (sometimes hosting three or more events in a day), and in presenting a variety of settings. For example, Craigie and the other speakers addressed a lively farming community at Cupar Cross from the back of a vehicle at the busy merkat (market) cross; hosted a ladies' 'at home' for a religious discussion; and a talk for female workers, in the open-air at the linoleum and mill factory's gates. The details of the tour and the arguments made for the franchise were reported in the press, who noted that the NUWSS were non-militant, non-party. Reports described how the women conducted themselves and dealt with hecklers; one farmer bought a copy of the NUWSS's The Common Cause newspaper, saying 'What we dinna' ken, we'll read aboot, which led to all copies selling out and an offer of a repeat meeting on the following week's market day. The Provost of Ladybank said he supported their cause in his introduction, and in most cases, the audience voted unanimously in favour of Craigie's proposal to ask the Prime Minister to introduce a Bill for women's enfranchisement. Miss Matters' contribution and handling questions were welcomed as she was from Australia, where women already were parliamentary voters, without experiencing women wanting to 'usurp the men', as she put it.
In October that year, Craigie toured West Lothian with suffragist leaders who visited seven towns, and had found supportive audiences. Craigie spoke at Bathgate with Miss Foggo, where she explained that when the women's movement began they put the case that 'criminals and lunatics' were denied the vote and women, but over time workers such as agricultural labourers were included in the franchise, so why should women continue to be excluded, as the working women also paid their taxes, but had no right to vote for parliamentarians who decided these taxes. She also spoke about the social 'ills' that a female perspective could press representatives to address, and she argued for fair wages. Her arguments persuaded a 'quite a number of the men' present to sign up in favour of the women's vote. At Blackburn, where Foggo and Craigie based the society headquarters temporarily, they collected 'Friends of Women's Suffrage' signatures, sold merchandise and '24 dozen copies of the NUWSS The Common Cause newspaper. They also held the attention of an overflow audience who had come to hear Dr. Elsie Inglis speak in favour of the vote. And In November 1913, at Whitburn, West Lothian, Craigie convened an event where speaker Alice Low addressed a large and supportive audience, explaining the legislative barriers and the case for women to have the vote.
In June 1914, Craigie was asked to speak about 'The Glasgow Demonstration' at the Edinburgh NUWSS bi-annual members only business meeting, and was again sharing the platform with Muriel Matters and Alice Low.
Volunteering and honours in World War I
Craigie's life took a change of direction shortly after the outbreak of World War I, through the connections between NUWSS to Dr Elsie Inglis' Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service (SWH), as she became an organiser for the SWH's first Serbian Unit.
This was the second all women medical and nursing team Dr. Inglis sent to the front. Its role was to support the Serbian government, travelling to the war zone with the British Admiralty, despite the UK's military hierarchy refusing to accept the all-women medical and nursing team. When Dr. Inglis returned briefly to Edinburgh in March 1916, Craigie was to the fore in the welcome party at the station, and presented her with red, white and blue flower bouquet, with Sarah Mair, Dr Alice Hutchison, Dr Beatrice Russell, Sir George Berry, Lady Salvesen, Miss J.H. Kemp, Mrs Wallace Williamson, Mrs Fred Salvesen, Miss Robertson of Innerleithen, Rev Mr & Mrs Robb.
Craigie served as Press and Appeals Secretary at the SWH headquarters and was awarded a medal in recognition of her service to the Serbian Red Cross, by the Crown Prince of Serbia with a letter from His Excellency M. Jovanović.
Craigie had also organised lectures via all the school boards in Scotland to mark 'Kossovo Day' (sic) on 29 June 1916, to raise the awareness of the allied nation's history in defending the cause of right, and through churches' Sunday Schools to explain the 'Christians versus Ottoman Empire' Kosovo battle history. Although these efforts were 'not primarily to raise funds' for the SWH, any donations were to be submitted to Craigie at the SWH Edinburgh HQ, for the siege relief work in Serbia. As well as 'naming' beds at the SWH hospitals from fund-raising or donations, Craigie, as the organising secretary, also acknowledged that towns such as Jedburgh raised (e.g. £13 3s 4d) from a 1917 Flag Day for SWH.
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. leadership Craigie became the recruiting controller of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) for Scotland, by September 1917, and she ensured that calls went out for cooks and domestic workers, as 'the pay is good'. She was awarded an OBE for her services to WAAC.
Civic activities Craigie's national profile and organisational skills were put to use in peace-time politics, as the Scottish women's organiser for the break-away Liberal Party, which was supporting the 1920 coalition government, and a new Scottish National Liberal Council. The following year, she 'gave an interesting address on present day political matters' at a joint meeting of Liberal and Unionist women. She gave talks to the United Free church groups including an address on Burns, and at the British Women's Temperance Association on comparing the social and economic conditions of the day with a century ago, or on the gold standard, Manchuria, production and distribution (A Tropical Talk').
Townswomen's Guild leader Craigie served the Townswomen's Guild (TWG) organisation 'enthusiastically' for twenty five years, initiating the Montrose branch and representing the town at regional and national federation levels. She became the vice-chairman of the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds of Great Britain (1951-1954), and was made the first honorary president of the North of Scotland Federation of Townswomen's Guilds on her official retiral.
By late 1935, when Craigie was appointed the vice-president of the Montrose Townswomen's Guild and one of two delegates for the North of Scotland Federation, the membership and attendance had grown beyond 200, then 250, needing larger venues. Craigie presided over a large and well attended arts exhibition, after the first fifteen months of the Guild, showing off the member's own embroidery and handicraft work and donated items; in the vote of thanks Craigie heard that 'Montrose is a bright spot in the Northern Federation'. She was elected president of the Montrose Guild in December 1936. In March 1937, given her war service with SWH, she presided over an event on the progress on building the Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital and on 'medical pioneer women', including the idea of maternity units included at each hospital.
Craigie was elected as the president of the Montrose Townswomen's Guild in December 1937, and addressed a rally, at Laurencekirk, where she was welcomed by the Provost (see image), now vice-president of North East Guilds Federation Southern group (set up due to expansion to assist more local guild collaborations). She explained the broad scope of the Guilds from creative craft & arts to engaging in public affairs, and in particular in education. She reported that TWGs had won grants from the Carnegie Trust and collaborated closely with education authorities across the north-east of Scotland;. At the social evening, she launched a competition for handiwork, with each guild to nominate three pieces for overall judging, with a certificate to be given to the host guild of the winning piece. And she took a group of 50 attendees to a personal-guided tour of Edzell Castle.
Craigie was retained as branch president in 1938, as well as co-convening the finance and drama activities of the Guild, before announcing she was stepping back. Four hundred people came to the Montrose Guild's fourth birthday event. She was chosen to attend the 1939 National Council (in her Montrose and North-East Federation capacity), an event with 1,000 attendees debating the future, in Scarborough, of what had by then become a 54,000 member national women's organisation.
She stepped down properly from leading TWG in 1941 'due to pressure of other duties,' but returned for the Guild's seventh anniversary to give the Immortal Memory' address at their 1942 Burns supper. Craigie was also asked to give a lecture on 'The Educational Committee, Its Functions and Administration" to the Guild in October 1944.