Page 14 - BPWUK - E-news - Edition 107 - November 2022 - BINDED_Neat

My final resting place, a CBE’s tale

I was bestowed for outstanding work.
I was received with pleasure and worn with pride.
I was framed and displayed for all to see.
I was kept safe and secure.
Now I reside with many antiquities, in a museum in Leicester.

But why, Leicester?

A Celtic settlement of the Corieltauvi people, a Roman Fort called, Ratae Coritanorum, a
town called Ligore Ceaster, a town and later a city called Leicester.

The town was invaded by the Saxons, the Danes and the Normans, sacked by both sides
during the Civil War and had a bomb dropped on it during WWII.
It was ruled by powerful Norman Knights, including Simon De Montfort, and is the burial
place of the last Plantagenet King.

The town’s prosperity began to grow with the introduction of the woollen industry and by
th
the 18 Century the shirt trade had begun, closely followed by the Boot and Shoe Indus-
th
try. These and hosiery manufacture continued to prosper well into the 20 Century.

In 1871 the Boot and Shoe Manufacturer’s Association was formed to negotiate wage
rates and working hours and in 1891 the National Federation of Boot and Shoe Manufac-
turer’s established its Headquarters in Leicester.

My recipient Miss Ruth Tomlinson, though initially trained as a teacher, spent twenty years
(1918-1937) working for the National Boot and Shoe Manufacturers’ Federation, becoming
the Federation’s secretary. She was also the first secretary of the National Institute of the
Boot and Shoe Industry, which had been founded in 1927.

In King George V’s, 1929 New Year’s Honours,

“Ruth Tomlinson, Secretary to the Incorporated Federation Association
of the Boot and Shoe Manufacturers,”

was awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE).

During this time, although she lived and worked in London,
she was closely connected with Leicester because of the industry.

‘Few people who do not know Leicester know so many Leicester
people, I should image, as Miss Ruth Tomlinson, the secretary of the
National Federation of Boot and Shoe Manufacturers’. Miss Ruth Tomlinson,
MBE.
(Leicester Evening News 26.01.1931)