Lilian Marjorie Horton
Lilian Marjorie Horton
Edlington
Dedicated fundraiser, school governor and community figure
Article researched and written by Andy Gough
Image of Lilian Horton, courtesy of Lilian’s family
The Early Years
Lilian Marjorie Gough was born into a mining family in the Northeast of England. Lilian’s early duties centred around helping her mother and older sister to raise seven younger brothers and sisters. At the age of only 13 years her father moved the whole family to the Doncaster area in South Yorkshire, joining the migration of coalminers and leaving behind numerous pit closures to mine the largest seam of coal in the country. In Doncaster, Lilian continued to help her mother and attended school.
From a young age Lilian Marjorie Horton worked at home for her mother taking care of seven younger siblings. She also contributed money to the household through knitting, cleaning other houses and working in school kitchens. It is incredible to think that 12- to-14-year-olds were so industrious at this time. At the age of 14 years, she acquired her first formal role at the Danum Hotel Doncaster as a waitress before moving on to a larger Hotel, the Stoney Lea Hotel in Ilkley, “working in service” as a live-in maid. Her main duty as housemaid was to deliver cleanliness and good order throughout all the rooms in the hotel. Between the hours of 06:00 and 22:00 she would clean and light the fires, do the washing and ironing and the house cleaning. The pay was not very good but she was well fed, had a roof over her head and wore a nice clean uniform.
When Lilian reached the age of 16 years, she had to return home because of the influence of the Second World War. She joined Pegler with her two sisters Irene and Molly. Pegler had joined the war effort and became a munitions factory, so the three sisters manufactured artillery shells, machining cones, and pressing bullets into the shell casings.
Horton Family Life
On the 9th of October 1943 at the age of just 19 years, Lilian Marjorie Gough married Joseph Horton and in 1945 her first born Carol came into the world. Family life was so different now. Lilian was longer working in the munitions factory or looking after her siblings but having to raise her own babies that also included their son John in 1951 and another daughter, Margaret in 1955. Life consisted of looking after the home and children while her husband went to work. It was not lavish but not too harsh either and for most of her life living in Edlington, a mining village, where most of her extended family lived.
The world of “work in service” changed significantly after WW2. The development of suburban areas and household technical products, made possible through the more stable supply of electricity, gas and water to domestic homes, promoted a more efficient household and workers relied less on needing to work in servitude to put a roof over their heads. Lilian Horton had now become the home builder of the 1950’s but still worked part-time to make ends meet and have some independence.
“Your endeavours have been the means of bringing essential aid and comfort to those in need.. The support you have given throughout the years has been a source of inspiration and encouragement..“
Letter sent by National Executive Committee of the Royal British Legion in recognition of Lilian’s Poppy Appeal fundraising
Community Spirit
Although Lilian never got caught up in the activist feminism movement, she strived for equal rights in her own way. In the late 1960’s she resurrected the women’s section of the Royal British Legion in Edlington, developed her own committee and became chairwoman. The women’s section committee became very successful and raised a lot of money over the years. Lilian was delegated to the County committee and attended many National meetings. She was eventually recognised by the National Executive Council of the Royal British Legion and won an award. One of the delights that Lilian enjoyed was attending functions with the Countess of Scarbrough who was a patron of the Royal British Legion.
In the early 1970’s Lilian started up the first and only private Playgroup in Edlington with the main aim of helping mothers with their daily lives. Using her experience and contacts made with the Royal British Legion, she raised funds, sought out premises and obtained items to enable the Playgroup to exist. It was so important to her that the playgroup flourished, that she kept a gift card from the children until her dying day.
In the early 1980’s Lilian joined the Labour party and continued with her fund-raising talents. She also became a school governor in the local community of Warmsworth. This was a role that Lilian enjoyed as much as creating the playgroup, and even though she was blind in the 1990’s she still received the minutes of meetings in the form of an audio tape to be able to take part.
On the 7th of August 2010 Lilian Marjorie Horton peacefully passed away in a local nursing home after suffering with dementia. While living in the nursing home she informed the manager that the rooms were not clean. They decided to give her an overall and a duster to keep her busy, and she loved it!
Lilian worked hard to accomplish whatever tasks came her way. Tasks for her mother and siblings, for her immediate family and to ensure that her children Carol, John and Margaret had every advantage in life and for her community and especially the women within it.
In the end she wasn’t a feminist, activist, or politician, but she cared enough for her people that she gave her time and energy to make the most of the opportunities proffered by modern day life for liberated women. Lilian was a humanist able to channel her confidence in life to help others!
