A NEW booklet depicting the life of the Ellesmere-born social reformer Eglantyne Jebb, launched later this month, is being offered as a free ‘keepsake’ to every household in the town and nearby villages.
The launch coincides with the centenary anniversary of a ground-breaking children’s charter drawn up by the compassionate campaigner after she co-founded the international aid charity Save the Children with her younger sister, Dorothy.
The 48-page booklet ‘Eglantyne’ is the culmination of two years’ work by Ellesmere Library assistant Sally Poynton who gave Princess Anne a preview of her artistry during her marking of the centenary of the Rights of the Child in April.
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The booklet charts her birth at The Lyth country house on the outskirts of Ellesmere, to her years as a student at Oxford University, followed by a brief stint as a teacher before working with the poor in Cambridge.
It also charts the course of her activism beginnings, from 1913 in the Balkans to founding Save The Children in 1919.
Sally said: “I came across a sketch of Eglantyne Jebb striding purposefully with a folder and umbrella underarm, and this image gave me the idea of creating paper cut-out illustrations depicting major events in her life, with an accompanying simple text.
“What I’ve managed to produce, working in my spare time, is a quick and an easy-to-read keepsake booklet that fills a gap between Clare Mulley’s award-winning biography of Eglantyne and a book about her, aimed at children, written by the Shropshire author Dorothy Nicolle some years ago.
“I hope this mini-publication will leave people a little more informed about Eglantyne’s remarkable life.
“I felt privileged to have the opportunity to give Princess Anne a preview of my drawings when she came to Ellesmere in April. She seemed impressed and offered her congratulations.”
Now, Sally’s booklet is being made offered free to every home in Ellesmere and surrounding villages, thanks to generous grants from the Co-op Local Community Fund, Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative and the Ellesmere League of Friends, with support from Bethphage, the social care charity which runs the Our Space community centre that includes the library.
Copies will be available at the library and a number of shops and other businesses in the town centre.
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An official launch party will be held in the library at Our Space in Trimpley Street, Ellesmere between 10am and 1pm on Saturday, September 28.
“There’ll be a warm welcome to everyone and I hope people will come along, pick-up a complimentary copy and enjoy the displays, activities and refreshments,” she said.
“I’d like to think that Eglantyne would regard this as a fitting way to celebrate the Rights of the Child, which she pioneered 100 years ago.”
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