Thank you Great Grandmother!

Being a female warrior is sometimes a hard road. In a world where other female qualities seem to receive more recognition. Amazon-style women are frequently not favoured. Am I the only one whose imagination as a child was captured by Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni ? Perhaps the modern day equivalent in the imagination of young girls is Daenerys Targaryen.

Documentary about Boadicea

Interestingly my Great Grandmother was actually born in East Anglia, home of and the Iceni and had deep ancestry in the area. I never thought about it till I watched the video.

I noticed a female blogger today wearing a Viking helmet and it reminded me how the Viking helmet in our own dressing up box, had long been a favourite of my daughter (although she now tells me the horns are historically inaccurate). Personally I believe the warrior in women is generally under recognised. I loved the latest Wonder Woman movie. I went expecting that nobody could ever take Linda Carter’s place but I am now officially a convert.

My family research (and a certain amount of personal experience), has led me to believe I come from a long line of warrior women. They might have happily made cucumber sandwiches but believe me their alter egos were a force with which to be reckoned.

My Great Grandmother fought for social justice in her own way both with her hands and with her belief system. She would apparently work through the night delivering babies and the resultant exhaustion, was presumed to have contributed to her early death. She is the same woman, who having experienced life as a servant, swore none of her children would ever become one.

In an era where women were encouraged to be demure, she was unafraid to tackle a headmaster who had unjustly caned her daughter.(She had ended up removing my grandmother from the school and moving her elsewhere). Great Grandmother would tolerate no disrespect. My grandmother was only ever cheeky to her once and had ended up immediately regretting it.

Great Grandma, you may have died almost a hundred years ago but we all owe you so much. You helped empower generations of women who have followed you. Also if I may alter slightly a famous saying- Behind many great women is a great man. Thank you too Great Grandfather.

Thank You both!