Sheila McKechnie: Difference between revisions
Triptropic (talk | contribs) m added parents and ref |
|||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
'''Dame Sheila Marshall McKechnie''', [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire|DBE]] (3 May 1948 – 2 January 2004) was a Scottish trade unionist, housing campaigner and consumer activist. |
'''Dame Sheila Marshall McKechnie''', [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire|DBE]] (3 May 1948 – 2 January 2004) was a Scottish trade unionist, housing campaigner and consumer activist. |
||
== Biography == |
|||
Sheila McKechnie was born in [[Camelon]], [[Falkirk]], |
Sheila McKechnie was born in [[Camelon]], [[Falkirk]], 1948. She and at the [[University of Edinburgh]],<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article842101.ece |title=Comment |website=Timesonline.co.uk |accessdate=2016-06-16}} {{subscription required|date=June 2016}}</ref> where she was a friend of [[Gordon Brown]]. She was a member of the [[Students' Representative Council]], holding the posts of Secretary and 2nd Junior President. After graduation, she an MA in Industrial Relations [[University of Warwick]]. |
||
After working as a trade union official in the 1970s, during which she was active in the [[Women's Movement]], she became director of the housing and homelessness charity [[Shelter (charity)|Shelter]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smk.org.uk/about-sheila-mckechnie/ |title=About the Sheila McKechnie Foundation | Sheila McKechnie Foundation |website=Smk.org.uk |accessdate=2016-06-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201193643/http://www.smk.org.uk/about-sheila-mckechnie/ |archivedate=1 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> |
After working as a trade union official in the 1970s, during which she was active in the [[Women's Movement]], she became director of the housing and homelessness charity [[Shelter (charity)|Shelter]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smk.org.uk/about-sheila-mckechnie/ |title=About the Sheila McKechnie Foundation | Sheila McKechnie Foundation |website=Smk.org.uk |accessdate=2016-06-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201193643/http://www.smk.org.uk/about-sheila-mckechnie/ |archivedate=1 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> |
||
After ten years in charge, she left to become head of the [[Which?|Consumers' Association]], campaigning on a wide range of issues, often using headline-grabbing stunts.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dame-sheila-mckechnie-549208.html ]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref> In 2001 McKechnie said: "I am a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad and will remain so for the rest of my life. No government would ever feel entirely comfortable with me or the association because we are both fiercely, fiercely independent."<ref name=autogenerated1 /> |
After ten years in charge, she left to become head of the [[Which?|Consumers' Association]], campaigning on a wide range of issues, often using headline-grabbing stunts.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dame-sheila-mckechnie-549208.html ]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref> In 2001 McKechnie said: "I am a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad and will remain so for the rest of my life. No government would ever feel entirely comfortable with me or the association because we are both fiercely, fiercely independent."<ref name=autogenerated1 /> |
||
| Line 11: | Line 12: | ||
She was made an [[OBE]] in 1994 for her work with Shelter, and [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire|DBE]] in 2001 for her work on behalf of consumers. She was chosen as the University of Edinburgh alumnus of the year in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/1990-1999 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608085152/http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/1990-1999 |archivedate=8 June 2011 }}</ref> She has been on the Board of Trustees of [[The Architecture Foundation]]. |
She was made an [[OBE]] in 1994 for her work with Shelter, and [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire|DBE]] in 2001 for her work on behalf of consumers. She was chosen as the University of Edinburgh alumnus of the year in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/1990-1999 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608085152/http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/1990-1999 |archivedate=8 June 2011 }}</ref> She has been on the Board of Trustees of [[The Architecture Foundation]]. |
||
McKechnie was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Following her death in 2004, the [[Sheila McKechnie Foundation]] was established to support a new generation of campaigners.<ref |
McKechnie was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Following her death in 2004, the [[Sheila McKechnie Foundation]] was established to support a new generation of campaigners.<ref =: /> |
||
In 2006 a bronze bust of Sheila McKechnie was erected in the walled garden within Dollar Park in Falkirk, near her birthplace of Camelon. The bust was created by artist Suzanne Robinson. |
In 2006 a bronze bust of Sheila McKechnie was erected in the walled garden within Dollar Park in Falkirk, near her birthplace of Camelon. The bust was created by artist Suzanne Robinson. |
||
Revision as of 22:04, 4 January 2020
Dame Sheila Marshall McKechnie, DBE (3 May 1948 – 2 January 2004) was a Scottish trade unionist, housing campaigner and consumer activist.
Biography
Sheila McKechnie was born in Camelon, Falkirk, on 3 May 1948 to Christina Hamilton, née Marshall and Hugh McKechnie, then a commercial traveller.[1] She studied politics and history at the University of Edinburgh,[2] where she was a friend of Gordon Brown. She was a member of the Students' Representative Council, holding the posts of Secretary and 2nd Junior President. After graduation, she studied for an MA in Industrial Relations at the University of Warwick.
After working as a trade union official in the 1970s, during which she was active in the Women's Movement, she became director of the housing and homelessness charity Shelter in 1985.[3]
After ten years in charge, she left to become head of the Consumers' Association, campaigning on a wide range of issues, often using headline-grabbing stunts.[4] In 2001 McKechnie said: "I am a fully paid-up member of the awkward squad and will remain so for the rest of my life. No government would ever feel entirely comfortable with me or the association because we are both fiercely, fiercely independent."[2]
She was made an OBE in 1994 for her work with Shelter, and DBE in 2001 for her work on behalf of consumers. She was chosen as the University of Edinburgh alumnus of the year in 1991.[5] She has been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation.
McKechnie was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Following her death in 2004, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation was established to support a new generation of campaigners.[3]
In 2006 a bronze bust of Sheila McKechnie was erected in the walled garden within Dollar Park in Falkirk, near her birthplace of Camelon. The bust was created by artist Suzanne Robinson.
References
- ^ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B.; Goldman, L., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, pp. ref:odnb/93145, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/93145, retrieved 4 January 2020
- ^ a b "Comment". Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2016. (subscription required)
- ^ a b "About the Sheila McKechnie Foundation | Sheila McKechnie Foundation". Smk.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
