Page 13 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 120 - March-April 2024

The Gordon Holmes
Memorial Lecture

Conference was honoured to welcome Peaches Golding DBE, The Lord Lieutenant
of the City and County of Bristol to deliver this prestigious session. She had the
distinction of being the first black woman to be appointed to this post in April 2017,
after a high- flying career in business, academia, public life and the voluntary sec-
tor.

Members were fascinated by her description of the role as His Majesty’s repre-
sentative in the County which entailed the organisation of all royal visits, carrying out cer-
emonial and military events, wreath laying, taking salutes and carrying out all the BEM
investitures and also sometimes those up to the level of knighthood. She also represented
the County at all the formal royal events, most recently the Platinum Anniversary, the Fu-
neral of Queen Elizabeth and the King’s Coronation and was well known to the King for 30
years having served on his Award for Enterprise.

Speaking with an impressive knowledge of our founder, Peaches reflected on how
Gordon Holmes had prospered in business despite no encouragement from her male-
dominated family and a lack of formal education. Starting out as a typist, leading to her
forming a typists’ union, her personal determination in collaboration with a male patron,
led her to have a successful broker business in the City of London. This was outside the
Stock Exchange, as women were not allowed to join that institution until 1973. Dropping
her Christian name of Beatrice was also a good ploy.

Peaches pointed out that Gordon Holmes would go on to challenge discrimination
in gender, race and pay issues, to promote equal values and educational programmes.
She also speculated what Gordon Holmes would be doing in her BPW role today – looking
at workplace issues such as home working, women’s visibility in the workplace, their
needs for childcare. Peaches suggested that other items that likely to be on her agenda
would be climate change and modern slavery. In her lecture, Peaches provided a chal-
lenge for our organisation to extend its work and push even harder for women to achieve.

Sylvia Perry