Elizabeth Girling
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7 March 1913
Elizabeth Girling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elizabeth Aytoun 7 March 1913 |
| Died | 24 March 2005 (aged 92) |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Known for | Spanish Civil War veteran; political activist; charity campaigner |
Elizabeth Jean St Clair Girling (née Aytoun; 7 March 1913 – 24 March 2005)[1] was an English veteran of the Spanish Civil War, a political activist and a charity campaigner.
Elizabeth Aytoun was born 7 March 1913 in Birmingham, UK, to Dorothy Henderson and Rev Robert Aytoun, an Old Testament scholar.[1] Her father died when she was seven, and Edward Cadbury became her guardian.[2] Cadbury funded Girling's education, and she attended St Leonards School in St Andrews, followed by Oxford University, where she studied English Literature; one of her tutors at Oxford was J R R Tolkien.[3]
While at Oxford, Girling became a communist and would go on to work for both the League of Nations Association and Transport and General Workers' Union after graduation.[3]