Save the Children founders to be in spotlight at Ellesmere event

Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton launched the international aid charity 100 years ago to provide food and medical supplies for starving children in Germany and Austria at the end of the First World War.

Their pioneering and inspirational work will be commemorated on April 1 at a one-day seminar to celebrate the movement’s centenary.

It will also focus on current and future challenges facing relief charities, including the refugee crisis resulting from conflicts in countries such Syria and Yemen and Myanmar.

Speakers will also address issues such as the increasing number of people being forced to leave their homes because of climate change and global warming.

With the theme Children Displaced by Conflict, the seminar will take place at Ellesmere College Arts Centre and will be opened the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner.

Len Graham said: “This seminar will appeal to local people who want to know more about the lives and work of Eglantyne and Dorothy, as well as those interested in heritage, history, politics and international affairs. We have attracted an outstanding group of speakers for what will be a memorable day.

Vision

“The event is being held at Ellesmere College, less than a mile from the country house where the sisters were born, and we are very grateful to the College for providing the facility.

“Eglantyne and Dorothy were great humanitarians - social activists with great vision, compassion and commitment. They were way ahead of their time and what they achieved has influenced the development of the international aid movement over the past 100 years."

Key speakers will include Claire Mulley, acclaimed author broadcaster and biographer of Eglantyne Jebb; Gareth Owen, humanitarian director of Save the Children; and 86-year-old Dame Stephanie Shirley, former Kinder-Transport child refugee who fled the Nazis and was educated in Oswestry.

Representatives of the Rohingya and Syrian refugees communities in Britain will also speak.

The event has been organised by volunteers from the Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative which is leading an 18-month centenary project in partnership with support from local councils, schools, community groups and businesses.

Tickets for the day seminar are £20 each to include a buffet lunch and are available locally from Ismay’s in High Street, White Lion Antiques in Market Street or online from www.eventbrite.co.uk

A number of free places will be available for students. More information is available from Claire Cartlidge on claire21cartlidge@gmail.com