Ann Kindersley (18 September 1899 – 15 October 1973) was a Girl Guide leader, trainer and writer. She was Commissioner of Girl Guides for France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy.

Ann Kindersley
Born(1899-09-18)18 September 1899
Died15 October 1973(1973-10-15) (aged 74)
Other namesAnn O’Ferrall
OccupationGirl Guide leader
SpouseRonald O'Ferrall
ChildrenOne daughter, one son

Personal life

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Ann Molesworth Kindersley was born to John Molesworth Kindersley (1836–1907), a civil servant,[1] and Olive Montagu Kindersley (1873–1955) a journalist, while the couple was posted at the Straits Settlement in Penang, Malaysia.[2] She was the niece of Sir Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley.

In the 1920s Kindersley was in a relationship with Helen Whitaker, a fellow Girl Guiding executive.[3] By 1930 Kindersley was living in Fareham, Berkshire.

In 1931 she met Rt Rev Ronald Stanhope More O’Ferrall (1890–1973), the Bishop of Madagascar, also known as the "Boy Scout Bishop".[4] They married on 17 April 1934 at Christ Church, Mayfair,[5] moving to Madagascar after the wedding. They lived at the Bishop's house in Antananarivo[6] and had two children.[7] In 1940 O’Ferrall resigned from his position due to ill health[8] and they returned to UK[9] where they lived in Derby until 1953, moving to Cranham, Gloucestershire, then Hyde, Hampshire. Kindersley died in Bemerton, Salisbury.

Girl Guides

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In November 1919, Kindersley travelled to Belgium to train new Girl Guide leaders in methods of Guiding "as practiced in England".[10] In 1920 she was involved in discussions with the Young People's Party of Germany in an attempt to establish the Guiding movement in the country.[11] In the 1920s she established a Girl Guide company among English girls in Cologne, who were there as part of the Rhine Army Occupation.[12] By 1924, she was the Girl Guides' District Commissioner for Newbury, a representative of Guides for Belgium and Luxembourg and also sat on the Girl Guide International Council.[13] Between 1928 and 1930 she was Division Commissioner for Andover.

By 1930, in addition to her role on the Girl Guide International Council,[14] Kindersley was a member of the Brighton Association of Girl Guides[15] and Commissioner for Girl Guides in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy.[16] From 1930 to 1931, at the invitation of the Provincial Commissioner for the Bombay Presidency, she spent 18 months supervising the training and organisation of the Girl Guide movement in India.[17] She travelled all over the country and, in her spare time, spent time working for various church societies. She returned to UK after her health "broke down".[18]

In 1931 she stood in for the Chief Guide, Lady Baden-Powell, at the Sussex County Ranger Rally.[19] In 1932, as Girl Guide Commissioner for Paris, together with Mrs Mark Kerr, she arranged a conference for European Guides in Paris.[20] In 1933 she was Camp Advisor for Girl Guides in Belgium, France and Italy.[21]

Writing

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  • 1923 – she co-edited The Guiding Book with her partner, Lady Helen Whitaker. It was a compilation of articles by people including Rudyard Kipling, Dame Nelly Melba, GK Chesterton, Katherine Tynan and Sir Walford Davies, with a foreword by HRH Princess Mary.[22]
  • 1926 – she contributed to an anthology of prose and verse published by Lymington Girl Guides.[23] Her translation of "Meditations of a Swiss Guide" appeared in a US newspaper.[24]
  • 1926 – her flapjack recipe featured in Stephen Graham's book The Gentle Art of Tramping[25]
  • 1938 – her article ‘'Notes on the Indian Idiom of English: Style, Syntax and Vocabulary'’ was published in Transactions of the Philological Society.[26]

Other

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  • In 1928 and 1929 she appeared on London and Daventry radio stations, presenting programmes Exploring Luxembourg,[27] The Belgian Ardennes,[28] Handicrafts in Colours[29] and The Story without a Name, the last written by Kindersley.[30]
  • Kindersley owned Charlotte Bronte's toy tea service. In 1930 she showed it as part of the Period Models exhibition in London on behalf of the London Clubs of the Young Women's Christian Association.[31]
  • She established the League of Fellow Citizens of the Empire in 1933.[32] She held a discussion between English and Indian women as part of the inaugural meeting regarding what could be done to further the common sharing of ideas for social services in terms of slum clearance, juvenile delinquency, health and sanitation, and how far broadcasting might be used to further these matters. Guests included social reformer, Dame Rachel Crowdy.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Settlement, Adrian (1896). Blue Book for the year. Singapore: US Governing Printing Office. p. La3.
  2. ^ The National Archives of the UK (TNA) Kew, Surrey, England Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
  3. ^ Jeal, Tim (2001). Baden-Powell: Founder of the Boy Scouts. Yale, USA: Yale University Press. p. 481.
  4. ^ ""Boy Scout Bishop" married". Evening Standard. London, UK. 18 April 1934. p. 19.
  5. ^ "Notes by the way". Derbyshire Times. Derby, UK. 28 February 1936. p. 12.
  6. ^ "A Bishop's Engagement". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln, UK. 10 January 1934. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Rt Rev R.S.M. O'Ferrall". The Times. London, UK. 13 October 1973. p. 16.
  8. ^ "Ecclesiastical News". The Times. London, UK. 10 January 1940. p. 9.
  9. ^ "Wide Sympathies". Derby Daily Telegraph. Derby, UK. 18 November 1939. p. 2.
  10. ^ Kerr, Rose (1939). The Story of a Million Girls. London: The Girl Guides Association. p. 243.
  11. ^ "The international spark for peace". Bucks Herald. Buckingham, UK. 12 December 1930. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Wide Sympathies". Derby Daily Telegraph. Derby, UK. 18 November 1939. p. 2.
  13. ^ "Girls' Club". Reading Standard. Reading, UK. 29 November 1924. p. 15.
  14. ^ "Pangbourne". Reading Standard. Reading, UK. 29 November 1924. p. 15.
  15. ^ A Bexhill Guider (22 March 1930). "For Guide and Guider". Bexhill-on-Sea Chronicle. Bexhill-on-Sea, UK. p. 11.
  16. ^ A Bexhill Guider (22 March 1930). "For Guide and Guider". Bexhill-on-Sea Chronicle. Bexhill-on-Sea, UK. p. 19.
  17. ^ "Appeal for Indian Movement". Western Daily Press. Bristol, UK. 23 February 1933. p. 4.
  18. ^ "Scout Bishop's Guide Bride". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln, UK. 11 January 1934. p. 3.
  19. ^ "County Ranger Rally". Bexhill-on-Sea Observer. Bexhill-on-Sea, UK. 26 September 1931. p. 4.
  20. ^ "An English Guider". The Daily News. Perth, Australia. 8 February 1932. p. 7.
  21. ^ "Appeal for Indian Movement". Western Daily Press. Bristol, UK. 23 February 1933. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Literary Notes". Halifax Evening Courier. Halifax, UK. 3 November 1923. p. 3.
  23. ^ "Girl Guides Publish a book". Hampshire Advertiser. Southampton, UK. 27 November 1926. p. 3.
  24. ^ Ann Kindersley (27 March 1926). "Meditations of a Swiss Guide". Hamilton Evening Journal. Hamilton, Ohio. p. 16.
  25. ^ Graham, Stephen (1926). The Gentle Art of Tramping. London: Robert Holden & Co. p. 116.
  26. ^ Ann Kindersley (1938). "Notes on the Indian Idiom of English: Style, Syntax and Vocabulary". Transactions of the Philological Society (Vol. 37 No. 1 ed.). London, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 25–34.
  27. ^ "Today's Broadcasting". Birmingham Gazette. Birmingham, UK. 6 March 1928. p. 3.
  28. ^ "Principal Features". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. 29 May 1928. p. 16.
  29. ^ "Programmes". Western Morning News. Plymouth, UK. 23 February 1929. p. 10.
  30. ^ "Programmes". The Times. London, UK. 3 September 1928. p. 7.
  31. ^ "Link with Bronte". Sunday Sun. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. 19 October 1930. p. 11.
  32. ^ Elizabeth Montizambert (1 December 1934). "Gazette's Budget of London Topics". The Gazette. Montreal, Canada. p. 15.
  33. ^ "Unique Social Service". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, Canada. 13 December 1933. p. 25.