Mary Lily Walker Building Opened

Last week saw the official opening of the new Mary Lily Walker Building.  Based at the High School of Dundee, the building will house their newly established nursery.  There could be no more fitting purpose for a building that bears her name, given that her key concern was the health of young children.

The ceremony marking the opening of the building took place on 1st September.  It was a grand affair, with approximately 75 people in attendance, amongst them the Lord Provost of Dundee, Bob Duncan.   He said, once again, how important and interesting that he thinks the story of Mary Lily Walker is for Dundee.  He is keen that it be known by all the residents of the city, and he is hopeful that the new nursery will be one more way of helping that to be achieved.

Mary Lily Walker was a pupil at the High School during the early 1880s.  Her years there were one of the experiences that helped to craft her very strong identity as a Dundonian.  It was this attachment to the city that would later led her to return to it after spending time in London.  Her strong bonds to the city led her to focus her efforts for reform on the city of her birth, rather than take up invitations to focus on other British cities that were also struggling with poverty and inequality.  It was precisely because she was a former pupil that the High School wanted to honour her memory formally.

Fascinated by the story of
Katie Morag, read by the author!

The speakers at the opening ceremony included John Halliday, Rector of the High School, as well as the guest of honour, Mairi Hedderwick, author of the classic Katie Morag series.  Along with treating the attendant children to a reading of her stories, Dr. Hedderwick expressed her personal interest in the story of Mary Lily Walker.  She was delighted to receive a copy of Mary Lily’s biography (written by author Eddie Small and published in 2013).

The photos in this blog show how chuffed the Mary Lily Walker Project Group was with the new plaques bearing her name, and how pleased they were to be amongst the many guests opening the new building.  We look forward to supporting the work of the new nursery team, led by Sarah Tosh.  We are very grateful to the High School for choosing to remember and commend the memory of their former pupil in this lasting way.

Team celebrations!

The launch gathering.

The new nursery team.

Unveiling the plaque

A Show of Hands...

On Thursday (6th March), Suzanne Zeedyk trained 450 Dundee staff in attachment.  Part of her presentation described the activities of Mary Lily Walker.  Suzanne began by asking attendees who knew the name of Mary Lily Walker to put up their hands.  AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!  This is a photo of how many people raised those hands!!!  

This shows the success of our efforts of the last year.  It is so celebratory to realise that THIS MANY PEOPLE now know the name of Mary Lily Walker.  Wonders never cease.

Dundee Womens' Festival 2014

Dundee Women's Festival starts this Saturday 1st March, running throughout March. Their schedule is full of film, music, drama and history-based activities We're very pleased to be able to say that they've included some talks and events on Mary Lily Walker!

For more on the events, check out their Facebook page

Exhibition: Mary Lily Walker - Forgotten Heroine of Dundee

From Monday 3rd March

Time: During Central Library opening hours

Venue: Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee DD1 1DB

Cost: FREE

Details: This exhibition provides all sorts of insights into Mary Lily Walker’s life and legacy. It contains a plethora of photographs and documents, all of which help us to make the connection between the Dundee of her day and our own.

Mary Lily Walker and her Sisterhood

Monday 3rd March

Time: 18.30 - 20.30

Venue: Number Ten, 10 Constitution Road, Dundee DD11LL

Cost: FREE

Details: Since the centenary of her death was celebrated in June 2013, residents of Dundee have

become familiar with the life story of Mary Lily Walker, Dundee’s forgotten heroine. What there

hasn’t been time to tell are the stories about the women who loved her, supported her work,

and joined her in her vision. This event will give us a chance to meet some of those women.

The discussion will be led by Suzanne Zeedyk and Pete Kinnear, two of the researchers on

the project. It will include readings from actual correspondence of the time and memories written by the women who missed her presence, long after she was gone.

Mary Lily Walker’s World – from the Top of the Tower Café

Wednesday 12th March

Time: 10.00 - 11.00

Venue: Top of the Tower Café, University of Dundee, Floor 9 Tower Building, Perth Road, Dundee DD1 4HN

Cost: FREE. Book a place via Karen@suzannezeedyk.com or phone 0845 075 3694

Details: For those who are understandably reluctant to brave Dundee streets in March, come and see Mary Lily Walker’s world from above. 

We will meet in the Top of the Tower Café, in the Tower Building of the University of Dundee. Researcher Pete Kinnear will guide you through her world, looking down from the expansive windows of the Cafe. You can even help yourself to a bacon roll and cuppa, in between questions! Event is free but places limited and booking is essential.

A Big Thanks

A brief message from the research team:

We had a great time with all the MLW activities and thank you to everyone who joined us for any of them. We're putting up photos from all of our events this week over on our MLW Facebook page - feel free to tag yourself if you're in any of them!

Thank you very much to all of our speakers at our events, particularly the MLW conference and church service. A big thank you as well to all the organisations involved in helping the events to happen, particularly the University of Dundee, Waterstones, Dundee City Council and Grey Lodge Settlement.

It has been a pleasure sharing the story of Mary Lily Walker's life and times, and we all hope that it may in some small way inspire change that we still need today in the 21st century. Although the Mary Lily Walker Centenary is over, we are still continuing to learn and talk about Mary Lily Walker and her continuing influence. 

To get involved in the discussion you can use the Twitter hashtag #MLWproj, you can keep following us here on the Mary Lily Walker Project blog or you can also find us on Facebook

Mary Lily Walker Celebrations Start!

After long months of planning, today sees the start of 4 days of celebration for the Mary Lily Walker Centenary. There's due to be a Civic Reception for all those who've taken place in pulling together the celebrations.

You can also take part by attending the exhibition currently up in the Tower Building Foyer at Dundee University. The exhibition was designed by Brett Housego, Head of Design at Suzanne Zeedyk ltd. and features letters, images and items from the life and times of Mary Lily Walker. It will run until the 12th August and entrance is free to all.

Mary Lily was one of the first cohort of students to study at the university, back when it was known as University College Dundee and the exhibition features lab samples from her time working in the university laboratories under D'arcy Wentworth Thompson.

Also on show is part of the report into child poverty that she authored in 1905. We do hope you'll enjoy the exhibition - if you do get to catch it, be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a comment here or on our Facebook Page.

Below are some photos of the research team installing the exhibition.

Dundee University's Matthew Jarron filling the case with artefacts.

This is how you hang an exhibition!

One suddenly realises how big the exhibition is!

The exhibition crew, from shortest to tallest:  Suzanne Zeedyk, 

Brett Housego, Matthew Jarron, Pete Kinnear

Mary Lily Walker and Graduation 2013

Mary Lily Walker's story was told at all 6 graduation ceremonies at the University of Dundee last week, a story that was also covered by the Dundee Courier.  Principal Pete Downes spoke of her in his Graduation Speech, doing so underneath an image of her projected on the screens.  That means that last week approximately 9000 people heard something of her story.  Let's keep telling it!

Principal Pete Downes telling Mary Lily Walker's story.

Mary Lily's picture being projected to 1500 people.

 Here's what the Principal had to say:

Let me now tell you a story that vividly illustrates the richness of our history at the University of Dundee, and our commitment to transforming lives.  It is the inspirational story of one of our first graduates, Mary Lily Walker.  On this, the centenary of her death, I would like to take the opportunity to champion her achievements.

Mary Lily was not only one of the first women in Scotland to be taught in the same classroom as men, winning prizes in Botany, Biology and Embryology, but was a pioneer for social reform in Dundee and beyond.

Her innovative approach to addressing the issues facing mothers and children in Dundee at the time led her to found the UK’s first mother's restaurant, to provide sustenance for nursing mothers, to set up a women’s hospital where women could be treated by female doctors, and to set up children’s clinics in Dundee.

And the achievement for which she is best known, the founding of the Grey Lodge Settlement in Dundee, which educated social workers and offered classes and activities for children in the city, still thrives today after she willed her properties to the oranisation.
Mary Lily also wrote the highly-influential Dundee Social Union Report of 1905, which revealed the deplorable working and living conditions in Dundee, especially the dreadful infant mortality rate.  This was a publication that was talked about in Parliament, and which was influential in Liberal social reforms.

Before her death, Mary Lily went on to become one of the first women parish councillors in Dundee, and was one of only two women asked to write for the British Society for the Advancement of Science Handbook in 1912.

Mary Lily died in July 1913, four days before her fiftieth birthday, but in her short life she transformed the social conditions of women in our city and beyond.

As an institution we at the University of Dundee take inspiration from Mary Lily’s story. If each and every one of us tries to emulate her ambition, innovation, and imagination and applies those principles to the way we teach, to our research tackling complex global problems and to harness our efforts to transforming lives, then we will reach our goal of becoming Scotland’s leading university within 25 years and, who knows, maybe even less time!

As an interesting aside, we recently learned something interesting about the mace, carried at all graduations at the University of Dundee (see below). It turns out it was gifted to the University in 1913, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of St Andrews University (to which University College Dundee was once affiliated).

It was presented to the University by Mr Rudolf Polack, whose wife, Mrs Polack, was for many years on the board of the Women's Hospital started by Mary Lily Walker and colleagues. Once you start delving into the history, there are many intersections!

Mary Lily Walker: The Book is now Available!

Exciting news this week as Eddie Small's biography of Mary Lily Walker has been launched. We received the first pressings earlier last Friday - below are some pictures of author Eddie Small, publisher Anna Day and Suzanne Zeedyk with the first copies.

Eddie (author),  Anna Day (publisher) & Suzanne, clearly sharing a good joke

Suzanne, Eddie and all the lovely boxes of books!

Entitled Mary Lily Walker: Forgotten Visionary of Dundee, here's a summary of the book:

 This is a story about a remarkable woman from a city renowned for its strong women; a woman who not only brought national attention to the desperate plight of women and children in late-Victorian Dundee, but who introduced social and healthcare reform to a city she held dear. A true original, this book tells her story for the first time - her early life, her inspirations and the friendships and relationships which make her a true treasured daughter of Dundee.This is the story of a legacy which still survives one hundred years after her untimely death. This is the story that has been too long in the telling.

Copies of the book are available from:

-Dundee University Press HERE
-Amazon.co.uk HERE
- Waterstones Dundee, who set up a beautiful display for us (see below)
- All attendees at our conference on the 29th June will receive a free copy (we've still got a few seats left, it's not too late to register!).

The lovely book display in Waterstones Dundee.

An Exhibition, Rotary Club Presentation and a Royal Visit!

Exhibition

We're very excited to share with you all the news that the University of Dundee will be hosting an exhibition on Mary Lily Walker from the 21st of June all the way through to the 12th of August.

Situated in the Tower Building foyer (the tall building situated just off of the Nethergate/Perth Rd.), it'll showcase letters, documents, pictures and more about the life and times of Miss Walker. Included will be items from her time at the University, when it had just opened it's doors as the University College Dundee - including lab specimens from her work alongside Professor Wentworth D'arcy Thompson.

Entrance to the exhibition is free, and it is disabled accessible from the rear of the building.


Rotary Club Presentation

Suzanne had the pleasure this week of speaking to the Claverhouse Rotary Club about our Mary Lily Walker events.  

This was a particular pleasure because it let her highlight one of many minor characters in Mary Lily's story. Hector Turnbull owned the Claverhouse Bleachfields, situated near the Dighty Burn in Dundee. Hector Turnbull was  Mary Lily's uncle, and was a witness at the wedding of her father and mother.  Our historical research has revealed that, when her father died in 1876, Hector was most unhappy about a prenuptial agreement that they had signed, and he refused to assist in legal proceedings concerning her father's estate. We haven't yet uncovered why he was unhappy! 

You can read much more about the history we've uncovered in Eddie Small's forthcoming biography.

This little story gives a sense of the many interwoven themes in our activities — especially when one of the Rotary members commented afterward that his house overlooks the site of the Bleachfields.

Here's a few photos of Suzanne giving that talk.

Many thanks to the Rotary members who wrote afterward to say how interesting and engaging they found the presentation to be.

Royal Visit

In other exciting news, Prince Charles came to Dundee last week and found the time to visit the Grey Lodge Settlement, which Mary Lily Walker left in her will to the people of Dundee.

Interestingly, it marks the second time that a Prince of Wales has visited the settlement. During his time there, Charles was entertained with traditional dancing and got to meet many of the volunteers who help keep Grey Lodge Settlement running today, 100 years after it's inception.

A full range of photos of the visit featured in local newspaper The Courier can be found at our Facebook page HERE

Conference Update, Mary in The News and Walking Tours

It's been a busy week for our research team, who're busy making preparations for our upcoming events. We've got much to share with you, here's some of the recent news:


Conference NewsIt's two weeks today until our conference Mary Lily Walker’s Footsteps: 100 years of Scotland’s Early Years Movement gets underway at the University of Dundee. Places are still available via Eventbrite (link below) at a price of £50 for students and £80 for other delegates.

The event goes on throughout the day from 9am to 4pm, with welcome coffee, mid-morning tea and lunch for all delegates. There'll be a variety of speakers from all across Scotland and beyond, including representatives from the Scottish Parliament, University of Dundee and Glasgow's Violence Reduction Unit. 

We're also pleased to announce that there will be a free copy of local author Eddie Small's new book Mary Lily Walker: Forgotten Visionary of Dundee available for all conference delegates.

Tickets can be booked via the below link:

*BOOK TICKETS*

Mary in The News

It's been a busy time for Mary Lily Walker recently, and the local newspapers have been kind enough to feature her not once, but twice. On Tuesday last week, The Courier in Dundee talked about the parallels between the current debate on sleeping alongside one's baby with the issues that Mary Lily Walker discussed back in her day over 100 years ago.

Before this, the Courier featured an article about the delightful Edwardian banquet we held in St Paul's schoolrooms earlier this month.

You can read the articles over at our Facebook page, Here and Here.

Great Walking Tours Response

A big thanks to all who attended our walking tours on Wednesday 12th of this month. We've had some excellent feedback from our walkees, and we're looking forward to showing more of you the hidden sites of early 20th century Dundee in the coming weeks. There's more tours planned for the 28th June, and some on today (15th June) if you're quick enough to grab yourself a place.

As before, tours are free of charge, take place in both morning (11am-12pm) and evening (2-3pm & 4-5pm). Each of the tours takes in a different part of Dundee, taking in different sites around the University of Dundee, City Centre and West End of Dundee respectively. Places are limited, so be sure to book your place by e-mailing karen@suzannezeedyk.com. We hope to see you there - here's some of the lovely things that those who joined us on the tours have said:

"I am sure that I never heard her name before, given all the things she did why haven't we ever heard her name before?

"She must have been a most remarkable woman"

"This has been most interesting and we look forward to reading more about Mary Lily"

'Mary Lily: The Movie', walking tours & a book launch!

It's winding up to be a busy month, and we've got lots of Mary Lily Walker news to share with you as the celebration events at the end of the month grow ever closer. Here's a roundup:

Mary Lily Walker: The Movie!

If you unfortunately couldn't make it to our Edwardian charity banquet at the start of the month, you can now be there in spirit! Wonderful local film-makers Dragonreel Films were in attendance, and they've produced a short film in which they met the chefs and some of the characters in attendance. They even managed to get a brief interview with Mary Lily Walker herself! You can watch the film below:

Photos from the evening are also up on our Facebook page, which has recently been relocated to a new address at: www.facebook.com/marylilywalker. A few pictures are featured below to give you a taste of what was an excellent night.

The full set can be found HERE - have a look and enjoy a flavour of the times.

Walking Tours

As mentioned last week, following the success of the previous walking tours, we've got some more planned. Full details are available on the poster to the right., with the next tours scheduled for this Saturday in both morning (11am-12pm) and afternoon (2-3pm). Places are limited, so if you're interested in joining us, be sure to e-mail karen@suzannezeedyk.com or call on 0845 075 3694 to book your space!

Book Launch

We're very excited to be able to announce the launch of a book on Mary Lily Walker, penned by local author Eddie Small. Entitled Mary Lily Walker: Forgotten Visionary of Dundee, it's being released on the 23rd June and is full of images from the time alongside the story of Mary Lily Walker's life and legacy. Here's a description from the Dundee University Press website:

This is a story about a remarkable woman from a city renowned for its strong women; a woman who not only brought national attention to the desperate plight of women and children in late-Victorian Dundee, but who introduced social and healthcare reform to a city she held dear. A true original, this book tells her story for the first time - her early life, her inspirations and the friendships and relationships which make her a true treasured daughter of Dundee.This is the story of a legacy which still survives one hundred years after her untimely death. This is the story that has been too long in the telling.

Copies can be pre-ordered from the above link, by phoning 0845 075 3694 or by e-mailing karen@suzannezeedyk.com. A free copy will be available for all those registered for the Mary Lily Walker Conference on the 29th June.

Walking Tours: June

Following the success of our previous walking tours of Dundee, we've arranged some more to co-incide with the events taking place this month to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mary Lily Walker's death. The walks are being held in association with the Dundee Westfest - more information can be found on their website:  http://www.gomni1.webspace.virginmedia.com/westfest/

The tours will be taking in various historical sites related to the life and times of Mary Lily Walker around Dundee, and will be led by members of our research team. Places are limited, in order to book, e-mail  karen@suzannezeedyk.com.

Dates for the tours are Wednesday 12th and Saturday 15th June, with one in the morning between 11AM and 12PM, and one in the afternoon between 2 and 3PM. 

The morning tours will be led by Dr David Dobson, meeting at The Howff, Barack St entrance. Afternoon tours will be led by Pete Kinnear and will meet at the DCA.

Conference Details

It's not long now until our conference, being held at The University of Dundee on the subject of Scotland's Early Years movement over the last 100 years. Tickets are still available, via the link below.

Edwardian Banquet - June 1st

JOIN US FOR AN (ALMOST) AUTHENTIC EDWARDIAN BANQUET — IN (ALMOST) AUTHENTIC COSTUME!

The team at Heaven's Kitchen are hosting an Edwardian Banquet, on Saturday 1 June 2013 — as part of the Mary Lily Walker commemorative events.  

This amazing charity team has planned an (almost) authentic 6-course Edwardian meal.   It starts with Arbroath Smoked Haddock Souffle, moves on to Carrot & Star Anise Soup, and (almost) ends with Carse of Gowrie Raspberry and Cranachan Dessert.  

The meal takes place in the classroom of St Paul's School — one of the schools that featured in Mary Lily Walker's ground-breaking 1905 report.  The classroom has only recently been cleared, and so will rarely have been seen by the public.  But we really will be eating in the very room in which Victorian children walked barefoot across a wooden floor — and whose lives Mary Lily Walker sought to change with her dedicated work.

The Heaven's Kitchen team is made up of volunteer chefs and waiting staff, all of superb and practised skills — who are donating their time and effort to raise money for St Paul's Cathedral.  Mary Lily Walker herself attended St Paul's Cathedral and was buried from there on 5 July 1913.   So it is fitting that we join her spirit there on 1st June, to kick off what is now a month of celebrations to mark her contributions to the city of Dundee and especially to the lives of Dundee children and women.

For more on Mary Lily Walker, her life and her legacy, check out the rest of our blog here at www.marylilywalker.co.uk. There are still tickets available for many of the events taking place in June, so do get in touch if any other events interest you.

We've attached a flyer for the Banquet, so that you know how to book (at £35 per ticket).   Don't forget to read the bit about the 'Required Dress Code'.  :)   It should be a fabulously fun evening.

We look forward to seeing many of you on the 1st of June — as long as tickets last!  

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL ON TO ANY LAIRDS, LADIES, RASCALS OR SCOUNDRELS WHOM YOU THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING.

Posters for Upcoming Events

We're really excited about our upcoming series of events in June. We've got more walking tours, an Early Years conference and even an Edwardian themed fancy dress dinner planned. Here's the three posters for our events. Should you wish to print them out (and please feel free!), you can find full size copies on our Flikr account

'Never More Blessed' - A Talk on the Friendship Between Mary Lily Walker and D'arcy Wentworth Thompson

On the 26th March, our research team hosted a talk on the lifelong friendship between Mary Lily Walker and D'arcy Thompson. More information on their friendship has recently been unearthed from their correspondance between them held in the archives at St Andrews University. 

D'arcy Thompson was appointed Professor of Biology at University College, Dundee (which would later become the University of Dundee which we know today). Mary attended the college and the two of them started a friendship which would last their entire lifetime, before she passed away in 1913.

Appropriately enough, the talk was held in the D'arcy Thompson Zoology museum, situated in the Carnelly Building on the University of Dundee campus. The museum is full of zoological specimens that Thompson obtained throughout his life, including some rarer specimens such as the skeleton of a now-extinct Steller's Sea Cow.

The talk was well attended, with about 30 brave souls braving the inclement weather. We give our thanks for all who attended and showed an interest in the wonderful friendship demonstrated in Walker and Thompson's correspondance. Speakers included the University of Dundee's Matthew Jarrow, Dr Suzanne Zeedyk and Peter Kinnear. Below are some photos from the event:

Matthew Jarron, introducing the evening

Suzanne Zeedyk, introducing the evening's themes

Suzanne getting animated with an attentive audience

Peter Kinnear, calling up the spirit of D'Arcy Thompson

A kind and receptive audience

Michael Mulford, one of the Mary Lily Walker Event Team members

Members of the MLW Event Team, including Matthew Jarron,
Co-ordinator of the Museum Talk Series.

Another shot of the audience

Presentation to Dundee Rotary Club, March 2013

The Dundee Rotary was delightfully keen to hear about Mary Lily Walker's work - We discovered that the current Rector of Dundee High School, which Walker attended, was a member of the club. It was a busy MLW week, with discussion of her taking place both in the meeting and in person. One of the best parts of speaking to the Rotary Club? Bringing today's Early Years Movement to the business community.

Walking Tour

On March 4th, some of our research team took a party out and about around Dundee on a walking tour.  They took in various important sites and points to do with Mary Lily Walker's life, starting at the Magdalen Green bandstand and finishing at the Grey Lodge Settlement. Here's some photos from the day:

The group in front of the Magdalen Green Bandstand

In the minibus

Walking through a snowy Balgay Park

Viewing Mary Lily Walker's headstone

The group at Mary's grave

A snow covered Balgay Cemetery

Heading down to the Howff

Visiting Thomas Walker's family grave at the Howff

Tea and cakes at the Grey Lodge Settlement