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Personal Papers of Margaret Walker, 1949 - 1956

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0271/GCPP Walker

Scope and Contents

The collection comprises a miscellany of papers relating to Margaret Walker's years at Girton, together with letters written to her by one of her teachers at Manchester High School for Girls, Annie Ellis, who had herself been a Girton student (1911-14).

Dates

  • Creation: 1949 - 1956

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Margaret Walker was born in 1930 at Salford, the daughter of Harold Walker, a stores clerk, and Amy Sephton. In 1933/34 the family moved to Timperley, near Altrincham, with Margaret’s grandmother (also Amy Sephton), who cared for Margaret while her mother worked in the city’s Education Office. Margaret was educated at Manchester High School for Girls before going to Girton College as a scholar in 1949 to study Natural Sciences. She read chemistry, zoology and geology for Part I of the Tripos (she took up geology partly on the advice of Dr Helen Megaw). She continued with geology for Part II, as she particularly enjoyed the field trips and the connection with zoology via palaeontology. Margaret remained at Girton as a research student in palaeontology, 1952-55, studying thecal variation in Monograptus, under the supervision of Dr Oliver Bulman. She gained her PhD in 1956 and the work was published in 1958 in Transactions of the Royal Society Series B. She also had several papers on palaeontology published, 1953-59, including some in the Geological Magazine. In 1955 Margaret married John Sudbury. After a spell as a research palaeontologist for the Iraq Petroleum Company, 1957-58, she became a teacher. John was also a teacher: after graduating from Cambridge (Selwyn College) in 1954, he taught French in a preparatory school in London before becoming a Headmaster in subsequent posts, including North Yorkshire, 1960-69. As a headmaster’s wife, Margaret was expected to supervise domestic arrangements, so she took a City and Guilds certificate in Housekeeping, Kitchen Supervision and Organisation in 1973, with distinction. Margaret also taught science in several schools part-time while bringing up their family of three children. Their last position was at Northwood Preparatory School, where Margaret was Head of Science 1981-89. On retirement, they moved to Thornton Dale in North Yorkshire. [Information drawn from Girton College Register Vol. II, with additional material from Margaret Sudbury, March 2016.]

Extent

2 file(s) : Paper

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Margaret Sudbury February 2016 and September 2018.

Originator(s)

Sudbury, Margaret, née Walker,1930-2019, teacher

Finding aid date

2016-03-01 13:28:15+00:00

Repository Details

Part of the Girton College Archive Repository

Contact:
The Archivist
Girton College Archive
Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0JG United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 338897