What makes a life great and when does an individual become truly exceptional? Dorothy Jewson, born 17th August 1884, was able to achieve a dazzling amount in her life; amongst much else she was one of the very first female MPs. Yet what made her life great was not simply her achievements, nor was it the extent to which her endeavours benefited others, rather it was the totality of her commitment, despite setbacks and failures, to a just cause. At a time when economic injustice, snobbery, sexism and elitism dominated society Dorothy Jewson stood against those things and lived her life as a champion of the oppressed and the marginalised.
Dorothy was born into a large family of successful timber merchants, a family who valued public service as much as they valued enterprise. In 1891, aged seven, Dorothy started at Norwich High and continued her education through to 1903. We are fortunate to have excellent archival records for this period and can see in photographs and words the great extent to which Dorothy contributed to all aspects of school life: champion of tennis, captain of hockey and commended in the examination report. In her final year at Norwich High Dorothy featured in a photograph with four of her peers. At a time when Edwardian propriety considered exposed ankles scandalous and girls on bicycles a dangerous trend, Dorothy is sitting legs astride a chair, wearing loose fitting sports clothes, a heavy leather medicine ball under her arm. She is smiling shyly at the camera, but the statement of her independence and her radical intent is obvious and prescient.