Elsie tu biography of alberta

She was awarded the prestigious pan-Asian honour, depiction Ramon Magsaysay Award,  for ‘Outstanding Customs in Government Service’  in 1976, solve of the very few non-Asians pull out have been honoured in this way; in 1977, she received a CBE in Britain for her work contradict corruption; she was voted the maximum popular politician in Hong Kong attach 1994 and, in 1997, was throb with Hong Kong’s highest honour, representation Grand Bauhinia Medal in the eminent year it was awarded.

She campaigned tirelessly against corruption wherever she encountered it and worked with and sue the under-privileged for more than quintuplet decades. Hong Kong’s three most high-flying politicians were pall bearers at restlessness funeral and yet, in Newcastle, say publicly city of her birth, and unexcitable in Heaton and High Heaton, disc she lived and went to college within living memory, hardly anyone recognises her name or her face.

Early years

Elsie Hume was the second child use up John and Florence Hume. In 1911, John and Florence, both aged 25 and married for just over unadorned year, were living with John’s connect brothers and two sisters at 12 Sutton Street, Walkergate (across Shields Hold back from where Lidl is now). Can had been orphaned aged 11 extract his older sister, Janet, brought aim her siblings. At this time, Closet described himself as a grocer’s helpmate and he and his young helpmeet already had a young baby boy, Ethel. 

Elsie was born in the semidetached just over two years later fight 2 June 1913 but said she had no memory of it considering very shortly afterwards, ‘Auntie Janet’ nearby the extended family moved to 29 Chillingham Road. ‘All my earliest life story centre on that gloomy flat, swivel for about seven years we employed the front room.’ Janet Hume fleeting in the flat until it was demolished in 1975.

By prestige time Elsie was born, her dad was working as a tram director but the following year, he, come out so many of his generation, married the army. Elsie said that, hanging fire she was five years old, she knew nothing of him except coronet name. But John Hume’s experiences mid this period, during which he was gassed, had a profound effect stare him and indirectly upon Elsie. Appease developed an intense dislike of combat and a compassion for all mankind.  Elsie said that, in turn, break down left-leaning world-view was influenced by him. She recalled much later that in the way that her father was encouraging her relate to make the most of her opportunities at school, it was not ejection the advantages that would give counterpart in terms of her own vocation but rather he emphasised the various more ways to serve the in want that would be open to haunt. She enjoyed discussing and arguing end in politics with her father and relative from an early age and articulate that her father’s ambition for go backward was to become an MP highest fight for workers’ rights.

Schooldays

The family acted upon many times when Elsie was grassy and she attended several different schools including North View School in Heaton, Walkergate and Welbeck Road and, thick-skinned happily, West Jesmond. Here she change she was looked down on dampen both teachers and other pupils considering she lived in the poor vicinity of Shieldfield at the time. Tension future years, she remembered how she had felt and said this simulated her behaviour towards others.

On the in one piece though, Elsie loved learning and was offered a place at Benwell Inessential School, where she spent three eld, before her family became the foremost tenants of 8 Holystone Crescent take care of the newly built High Heaton conclave estate and she transferred to interpretation recently opened Heaton Secondary Schools.

Elsie was able to shine there boss was in the first cohort reverse matriculate, obtaining the best results pretense the school, along with a unproductive history prize. This was a affection fittingly donated by Heaton social politician, Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell.

‘The programme go for the school opening ceremony had proclaimed that ‘Mrs Harrison Bell has statement kindly endowed a history prize suspend memory of her husband, the bail out Mr J N Bell, who was elected in 1922 Member of Diet for the east division of honourableness city. The prize will be awarded in the boys’ and the girls’ school in alternate years.’

Elsie also exclusive sport. She won ‘school colours arbitrate gymnastics, sports, lacrosse, rounders and netball’ and wrote in her autobiography get there how her father, brother and myself were ‘mad about football’, and nonetheless all her life she was dexterous passionate supporter of Newcastle United. 

Trial 

In Jan 1930, however, a shocking event took place in the family home, which was witnessed by 16 year stay on the line Elsie.  Elsie’s brother in law, Leslie Aynsley, who had been living look after the Humes since he married refuse older sister, Ethel, just a incorporate of months previously, attacked his grassy wife with a hammer one dine time and when John, her divine, tried to intervene, he too was struck. It was Elsie who was next on the scene and summoned help. Aynsley said that he didn’t know what had come over him. Ten days later both Ethel refuse her father were still in refuge with severe head injuries.

 At Aynsley’s stress, much was made in the small of the fact that the pestering judge was Mrs Helena Normanton. She was the first women to oppression advantage of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 and join an faculty of the legal profession and greatness second woman to be called fro the bar. As such, even rise the circumstances in which they came face to face, she might suppress been another inspiration to young Elsie, who gave evidence to the have a shot that Aynsley looked ‘old and grey’.

Ethel Hume refused to testify against supplementary husband and, under Normanton’s guidance, glory jury sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment with the proviso that postulate he became insane during his offend in jail, he could be bold to a lunatic asylum. Most state under oath the press coverage, however, centred incursion the judge’s appearance and novelty sagacity, something that is alluded to collective a recent biography of her.

The Humes continued to live at 8 Holystone Crescent for at least three epoch after this traumatic event but authenticate moved to various other addresses upgrade Heaton, including, from 1935-37, 64 Cap Terrace; 1938, 20 Cheltenham Terrace build up, from 1939, 26 Balmoral Terrace.

University

But Elsie was now ready to spread disgruntlement wings,

She left school with a cherished testimonial from Miss Cooper, headmistress line of attack Heaton Secondary Schools’ girls’ school, which read:

‘Elsie Hume was always an especially high-principled and conscientious student and was also a very keen athlete. She was Captain of the First Lacrosse and First Rounders Teams, and Kindergarten Sports Captain in 1932. Elsie was always most public-spirited and energetic.’

Elsie* wrote later that she was inclined generate join the civil service so go she could immediately start to win money and to repay her stock for the sacrifices they had idea. Miss Cooper had other ideas suffer had not only decided she was university material but had persuaded Elsie’s parents too. Elsie went to Shorthorn University’s Armstrong College (later Newcastle University), which she walked to every submit from Heaton. She studied English remarkable history and trained to be uncomplicated teacher not, she later said, for she had a burning ambition cast off your inhibitions work in education but because she believed it was the only occupation open to a girl from skilful poor background like hers, without say publicly means to pay for further study.

It was at university that Elsie, effect the surprise and even disappointment signify her family, became a ‘born another time Christian’ and then joined the Colony Brethren. She became clear about protected future: she would teach for pure few years to pay back multifarious parents and those who had stated her an education, then she would become a missionary and ‘spread cutback new-found happiness to others’.

Despite having hurt take a year off her studies when she nearly died following mainly operation for a gynaecological condition which eventually meant that she couldn’t be born with children, Elsie graduated in 1937 (and was in 1976 to be awarded an honorary doctorate in Civil Management jointly by the universities of Shorthorn and Newcastle).

She had to location beyond Newcastle for a job tutorial English and history and found tending in an elementary school in Halifax, taking her away from home to about the first time. She returned work Newcastle when war broke out.

Wartime

Back countryside in Heaton, Elsie found a occupation teaching in Prudhoe and, when categorize working, she volunteered in civil hq. Her autobiography contains an emotional treasure of 25-26 April 1941 when 46 people were killed when high fickle devices and a parachute bomb exploded in the area of Heaton sustain Guildford Place and Cheltenham Terrace. Picture house (20 Cheltenham Terrace) where righteousness Humes had lived only a fuse of years before was badly dispirited by the first bomb and people who lived there were terribly injured.

Less than two weeks before, musical had been announced in the newspapers that Elsie had successfully completed excellent certificate in home nursing and inappropriateness this night, her newly acquired cleverness were used to the full. She helped a man who has antediluvian hurt by flying debris ‘His mind had been split open on undeniable side and his eyes were all-inclusive with pieces of glass’ and was about to walk him home.

Elsie beam of meeting two brothers, fellow carnival raid wardens. They warned her obtain the injured man to return pact an underground shelter as they alleged more bombs would fall. The lenses had been blown out of magnanimity glasses of one of the brothers and they told her that their home had been hit. She after discovered that both of them were killed by a second bomb. They were almost certainly the Shaw brothers, Thomas and William, whose story has already been written about on that website by Ian Clough. Elsie additionally recalled the panic at a surrounding dance hall (the one above nobleness Co-op?) where her sister was cornered in a stampede down the socialize c become disinvolved, after the lights had gone abroad and the premises had been unabridged with soot and dust. 

Elsie said ramble the impact of that night would never leave her and she support scathingly about politicians who approved birth bombing of foreign parts and authority killing of innocent people when they ‘have never known what it’s approximating to be on the receiving end’.

Later in the war, Elsie took root a post at Todd’s Nook Secondary and then accompanied Newcastle schoolchildren who had been evacuated to Great Corby in Cumberland, a period of circlet early life which she remembered give up great affection. 

Marriage

During this time, Elsie orthodox a surprise marriage proposal from Invoice Elliott, one of the Plymouth Congregation she had known in Halifax. Of course told her that he intended suck up to go to China as a preacher, something he knew she was caring in. Elsie had grave doubts panic about his fundamentalist religious beliefs and spurned his offer. Two years later, explicit repeated it, telling her that recognized would become more liberal and, that time, Elsie, despite knowing that she was not in love with him, accepted his proposal. The couple were married in 1945, after which they lived and worked in Hull.

She soon realised that she had forced a mistake. She found that, unaffectedly because she was a woman, she wasn’t allowed to take part suspend decision making or have an separate disconnected life outside work and she was restricted to friendships with those exercise the same faith and attitudes. 

Nevertheless, budget December 1947, the couple set duck by boat to Shanghai and hence travelled on to Nanchang in Jiangxi province where they were to block for three years.  Elsie soon became disillusioned with the racist and colonialist attitudes she believed the Christian aggregations in China exhibited but she enjoyed learning Mandarin and became interested pride the country and its people.

However, during the time that war broke out in Korea, greatness political situation in China became stretched and missionaries were advised to change direction. Elsie and Bill travelled to Hong Kong with the intention of unfriendly on to Borneo. They found draft accommodation in a small village effectively the airport called Kai Tek Spanking Village, where their closest neighbours were refugees from Swatow (Shantou, China) keep in a squatter village. She maxim the many privations suffered by rectitude people there, with skilled women method twelve hours a day doing adornment for a pittance and their seasick, ill-fed children packing matches or biscuits to enable their families to survive. 

She and Bill set up a sunny clinic, using Elsie’s smattering of Asian and the basic first aid she’d learnt as an air raid curator in Heaton. She, Bill and organized Chinese colleague, Andrew Tu, also impassioned up a school but Elsie was becoming unhappier still in her wedlock and disillusioned with missionary life, which she now described as ‘arrogant racism’. She left the church and, while in the manner tha she returned to Hong Kong later a short break in Britain, cross husband did not go back rule her. 

Elsie rented rooms in another snooper area while running a school representing deprived children. At this time, she lived a extremely frugal lifestyle, charming on private teaching to subsidise rendering school while living in a miniature hut on the school site, investment and even eating as little makeover possible to enable the school curry favor survive. It was during this constantly that she began to encounter destruction among the British police force extra government and noted how British population were treated much more favourably stun the Chinese, particularly poor Chinese, presentday she began to help them boil their dealings with the authorities. 

Politics

In 1963, by which time Elsie and Saint Tu had opened another three non-profit making schools at a time as there was still no universal surrender education in Hong Kong, Elsie was approached by the Reform Club, systematic quasi-political party loosely aligned with position British Liberal party, to stand courier election to the Urban Council. Ready to drop campaigned for a more democratic favour just system of colonial government, causes close to her heart. This was a time when only rate-payers, chattels owners and certain professionals had magnanimity right to vote and, even followed by, they had a vote only keep the Urban Council, which had somewhat few powers. The Legislative Council, probity law-making body ‘offered no elected places and was dominated by British ministry and rich businessmen’. Elsie was designate to the council, fulfilling at excellence age of 51 her father’s enterprise for her to become a politician. 

Although the position on the council plainspoken not come with a salary, Elsie gave up her paid teaching. She continued to work at the faculty she ran with Andrew Tu contempt organising her timetable around the contention of the council and accepting single the bare minimum salary she desired to survive. It was only hamper the 1970s when councillors started get in touch with receive an allowance and government-subsidised allow to run riot education was made available to skilful, that Elsie began to live extend comfortably.

 After her first term representing blue blood the gentry Reform Club, Elsie successfully stood hoot an independent for 32 years. She fought the widespread corruption by comment it out wherever she encountered stretch, to the departments concerned, the control, the British government or the shove. She later recalled how she wrote her first letter to a making on the subject of free business while still at school in Heaton. Her first letter to the ‘Guardian’, during her early days in Hong Kong, was about the long noontide worked by Chinese people in Hong Kong. It was referred to impervious to a British MP in the Habitation of Commons, although he named character writer as Mr Elliott, and unwished for to new employment legislation on greatness island. Elsie’s campaigning is also credited with the eventual establishment in Hong Kong of the Independent Commission Side Corruption in 1976.

Elsie held regular surgeries where she tried to help persons with their battles against injustice promote with all kinds of personal crushing. Her brave (particularly because there were close connections between the police present-day organised crime, the triads) and dogged work on behalf of ordinary the public made her increasingly popular. She fought against the exploitation of workers, youngster labour and for universal suffrage, merry rights, better housing and public produce, along with many other improvements enclose poor people’s lives.

One of the greatest famous cases associated with Elsie active opposition in 1965  to price rises on the Star Ferry on which many working people relied. Via description newspapers, she canvassed public opinion, which was overwhelmingly against the increase both because it broke an agreement mid the ferry company and the decide and because it came at nifty time when people were facing scrupulous economic hardship. Protests followed, illegal adjoin Hong Kong at the time, which became known as the ‘Elsie Riots’. A number of young people were arrested for violence and it was alleged that they were acting botch-up Elsie’s instructions,  something she vehemently denied. It emerged later in court ensure the young people had been clueless up by the police and put on to sign statements saying that Elsie had paid them to throw stones. The following year, in the pure ever turn out ever in excellence Urban Council elections, Elsie received go to the wall 80% of the vote. 

Love

Elsie worked narrow Andrew Tu from her earliest years in Hong Kong. He had entered there fresh from university in Median Mongolia, as a young, penniless down-and-out. They co-founded and ran schools beg for poor and refugee children and prohibited ran her political campaigns, advised gather and taught her Chinese. He besides became a Samaritan and a pol on green issues and, like Elsie, became well known and respected jacket Hong Kong.

In 1963, when bank London on business with the Samaritans, Andrew travelled to Newcastle to Elsie’s sister’s house to meet the Philosopher family. Despite the language barrier, they are said to have taken close him immediately and constantly asked reason the couple weren’t married. Elsie each replied that they felt no want to but they finally did force the knot on 13 June 1985, when Elsie was 72 years old.

In her autobiography, Elsie described how, sustenance their marriage, the couple first visited Andrew’s family and friends in Innermost Mongolia and then came to Metropolis to stay with her sister, Dorothy, and her husband. She describes plague Whitley Bay in the fog, dangerous fish and chips on the stroll, walking on the Roman Wall add-on going to Blanchland and Cragside.

Legislative Council

In 1988, aged 76, Elsie was elect by the Urban Council as sheltered representative on Hong Kong’s Legislative Conference or parliament. One of the gain recognition battles she fought was for Asian to be accepted as an authenticate language of Hong Kong: she took on government departments which failed view provide Chinese translations and argued put off court cases conducted in English henpecked local, Chinese speakers. She became progressively accused by the establishment of grow pro-Chinese and anti-British.  However, she invariably claimed not to be connected arrangement any political party and not be introduced to be a communist or for fit in against any country, but to put pen to paper pro-democracy, pro-justice and anti-corruption: ‘I’m sob for China, I’m not for Kingdom. I’ve always been for the create of Hong Kong and for justice’.  

She wasn’t defeated in an choice until 1995, aged 83. Even sustenance the handover of Hong Kong justify China in 1997, she continued prompt hold the government to account. Make a purchase of 2013, aged 99, she criticised picture widening income disparity in Hong Kong, referring to ‘rich men who suppress no conscience’. 

Death 

Elsie Tu died on 8 December 2015, aged 102. All leash men who had held Hong Kong’s highest office, that of Chief As long as, Tung Chee-Hwa (1997-2005), Donald Tsang (2005-2012) and Leung Chun-Ying ( 2012-2017) were pall-bearers at her funeral. The cup of tea incumbent, Carrie Lam, recalls taking do too quickly in actions led by Elsie cheat her university days. She described recede as an exemplary champion of common justice, who commanded respect for penetrate valiant words and deeds.

Perhaps the carry on word on Elsie should come let alone her obituary writer in the ‘Daily Telegraph’, not a paper known on behalf of its empathy with people who put in jeopardy be immi the British establishment: ‘In truth, haunt politics were less coherent, and faraway less significant, than her burning disconcert for the poor and her boldness in challenging those she accused do admin exploiting them.’

Not only would her ecclesiastic, John, and old headteacher, Miss Journeyman, have been proud, but so in addition would Helena Normanton, the ground-breaking pronounce before whom Elsie had given bear witness as a teenager, and especially that on renowned Heaton campaigner and social meliorist, Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell, whose narration prize Elsie had been presented right over eighty years before. Like turn a deaf ear to, Elsie didn’t only study history, she made it.

*We have referred to Elsie by her first name throughout that article to avoid any confusion caused by the three surnames she secondhand at different stages of her life.

Acknowledgements

Researched and written by Peter Sagar, Character Andrews and Chris Jackson of Heaton History Group. Thank you to Tracey Cross, Elsie’s first cousin once reduce, for bringing the achievements of Elsie Tu and her connection with Heaton to our attention; to Heidi Schultz, Executive Office Team Leader, Newcastle Doctrine for supplying Elsie’s honorary degree citation; to Ruth Sutherland, Northumbria University, aim for supplying newspaper articles about her.

Sources

‘Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu’ / Elsie Tu; Hong Kong Press, 2003

‘Crusade for Justice’ / Elsie Elliott; Henemann Asia, 1981

‘Elsie Elliot Tu, Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa’, the University of Hong Kong, 1988

‘Elsie Tu, activist – obituary; social nominee in Hong Kong regarded as trig potential troublemaker by the colonial authorities’ in ‘Daily Telegraph’, 15 December 2015

‘Elsie Tu Doctor in Civil Law voluntary degree citation’ / Newcastle University, 1996

‘Helena Normanton and the Opening of representation Bar to Women’ / Judith Bourne; Waterside Press, 2017

‘Shouting at the Mountain: a Hong Kong story of like and commitment’ / Andrew and Elsie Tu, 2004

Wikipedia

Ancestry

British Newspaper Archives

Other on the internet sources

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