Mary Smith, born in 1902, was a pupil at Manchester High from 1917 to 1920. Her father's family had a coal distribution business in Ardwick (John Smith & Sons). She was in the secretarial stream at Manchester High. This course was intended for those girls who preferred to go into employment after leaving school. Her daughter, Kate Smart, has very kindly sent us scans of pages from her autograph book which contains messages from her friends at Manchester High. The drawings are very evocative of the period.
She also told us more about Mary’s life after she left Manchester High. This was because her father moved to the Isle of Man. Mary married there in 1930 to John Brown Bolton, later Sir John Bolton, who was Chairman of the Finance Board of the Island over a period of time in which the Island's economy gradually changed from tourism to financial services.
This is what Kate wrote about Mary. In terms of social history, it gives us a real insight into the limitations regarding women’s employment during this period.
‘One thing my mother told me was that the girls used to write to soldiers in the war, and she remembered them being at the railway station. Her brother, three or four years older, did serve, though briefly, in Italy with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Having moved to the Isle of Man on leaving school, my mother was simply at home with her widowed father and mother's sister who kept house for them. Life was exciting over there with many entertainments for the tourist trade, and I believe they enjoyed life until it appeared the money ran out. My mother looked for work and applied for a job as an Office Boy - perhaps there were not too many openings there for more ambitious jobs for girls. She got the job, but was only offered half pay since she was not a boy! She remained there for a number of years, working in an accountant's office, where she met my father who was articled there. In time, my father set up his own practice and my mother followed. As the family came along, she stopped working. My father continued in practice until his retirement. He also became involved in government on the Island and was knighted for his public service. My mother remained very fond of her roots in Manchester.’
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