Thelma Cazalet-Keir

Thelma Cazalet-Keir CBE (née Cazalet; 28 May 1899 – 13 January 1989) was a British feminist and Conservative Party politician. Early life Thelma Cazalet was born in London, the third child - of four - and only daughter, of William Marshall Cazalet (1865–1932), and Maud Lucia, née Heron-Maxwell (died 1952). Her father was a wealthy socialite, and in her childhood she met many leading figures of the day, including Rudyard Kipling, Sylvia Pankhurst and Beatrice Webb. Her mother was a feminist Christian Scientist and a strong influence on her daughter. Her eldest brother, Edward, was killed in the Great War, serving as an officer in the newly formed Welsh Guards, at Fricourt in 1916; the middle brother, Victor, served and survived and was also awarded the Military Cross; the youngest, Peter, was still a schoolboy. Cazalet was educated at home by governesses, and later attended lectures at the London School of Economics. She was a close friend of Megan Lloyd George, the daughter of Prime Minister David Lloyd George and later a Member of Parliament (MP) herself. Political career Cazalet entered local politics in Kent, where the family had their country house, Fairlawne, in Shipbourne. Then, in 1924, she was elected to the London County Council, remaining a councillor for seven years, until she became an alderman in 1931.