Auntie B's War

Beatrice Kitson was a formidable Victorian lady who was supposed to be a delicate child and was not sent to school for this reason. However, she lived till she was nearly 90. She was born in 1876 and died in 1965 so she saw many changes in her lifetime. Beatrice was the third Lord Mayor of Leeds in her family. She was brought up from the age of nine at Elmet Hall in Roundhay Park, the home of her grandfather who started a railway engineering company called the Airedale Foundry. During the Second World War Beatrice Kitson was elected Lord Mayor of Leeds, the first woman to be so because the newly-elected Lord Mayor died while making his acceptance speech. She was well-known locally as a Magistrate and Poor Law Guardian, in addition to her other charitable work. She was thus catapulted into a prestigious position at a most interesting time and met many local, national and international dignitaries. Beatrice's personal life was equally fascinating and extraordinarily well-documented. She kept albums with every theatre programme and railway ticket, of which there were many. With her friend Ethel Mallinson, a very accomplished artist, she cycled, walked and travelled frequently both in England and Europe. Ethel recorded their activities in her sketches. At the end of the war Beatrice retired to Berkshire, where she called her house 'Elmet', in memory of her childhood home in Leeds. She was a forceful character till her dying day. Beatrice Kitson tells the story of her childhood in her own words. The book will interest those who study the history of local government in Britain and, in particular, the role of women.