Headmistress Recognised as one of Tameside’s Extraordinary Women

31 October 2018 - All

Wycombe Abbey Headmistress, Rhiannon J Wilkinson, has been recognised as one of the extraordinary women of Tameside, Greater Manchester in a new book published as part of the community’s celebration of 100 years of votes for women.

Mrs Wilkinson, who was born and raised on Tameside, is one of 80 women to feature in the book. Other famous women featured include politicians Baroness Barbara Castle, who held a number of high-profile government appointments, and Dame Margaret Beckett (the first female Foreign Secretary), fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, and business woman and Dragon’s Den dragon Jenny Campbell.

The book also celebrates those who lived “quiet, courageous but unexceptional lives” such as Lilian Buckone, a nurse in the Spanish Civil War, and is dedicated to the millions of women who have lived in the area since the first travellers settled in Tameside.

The Tameside’s Women book has been compiled by local historians Gay Oliver and Kate Booth with input from members of the Tameside Local History Forum to celebrate the partial enfranchisement of women a century ago.

Mrs Wilkinson said: “It is an enormous honour for me to be included in this book of Tameside’s women, alongside so many accomplished and pioneering women. The book is a wonderful tribute to all who live and have lived in Tameside and who have provided so many women with the tools and opportunities to take on the world.”