Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan (née Fraser)
(1879-1967), Botanist and Leader of Women's ServicesSitter in 4 portraits
The remarkable life of Dame Gwynne-Vaughan straddles academia, politics, the military and women's activism. One of the first female students at King's College London in 1907, she formed the University of London's Women's Suffrage Society with Elizabeth Anderson. The structure and reproduction of fungi (mycology) would remain her area of expertise, becoming head of Botany at Birkbeck College in 1909. During World War I, she became chief controller of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), where her strong administration skills came to shape the organisation. The first woman awarded a military CBE in 1918, she stood as the conservative candidate in Camberwell North in 1922.
Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan (née Fraser)
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 24 April 1924
NPG x158744
Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan (née Fraser)
by Lafayette
vintage print, 23 May 1929
NPG x15150
Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan (née Fraser)
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 23 May 1929
NPG x47713
Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan (née Fraser)
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 23 May 1929
NPG x47714
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