Wrth i gymunedau a gwirfoddolwyr trawsysgrifio’r 390,296 o lofnodion yn Neiseb Heddwch Menywod Cymru 1923 i America, mae llawer wedi bod yn cofio ac yn rhannu’r straeon y tu ôl i enwau’r genhedlaeth hon o fenywod gwnaeth hawlio heddwch. Pwy oedden nhw – a pha neges gallai fod ganddyn nhw i ni 100 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach.

Roedd prosiect ‘Hidden Histories’ dan arweiniad WCIA yn gwahodd pobl ledled Cymru i ddatgelu a rhannu ‘straeon heddwch’ y tu ôl i’r 390,296 o fenywod a lofnododd y Ddeiseb Heddwch – nid dim ond ‘y gwych a’r da’, ond y miloedd o fenywod cyffredin ledled Cymru llofnododd yn sgil y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf er mwyn hawlio heddwch.

Cyfrannwyd y stori hon a deunydd ategol gan Shelagh Fishlock.

[stori wedi ei gyfrannu yn Saesneg yn unig]

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Florence Lindley, Lowther College, Bodelwyddan.  

Petition ref. 7/13 p.1

Florence was born in 1874 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, daughter of a pawnbroker. Aged only 22, she founded Lowther College in Lytham, Lancashire, as a girls’ school to provide an education to rival the best boys’ public schools.

In 1898 Florence married George Lindley and together they grew the school over the following years. During the First World War Florence ran the school whilst George joined the Red Cross.

After the war the Lindleys wanted to expand the school so moved it to Bodelwyddan Castle in 1920. They “retired” in 1935, moving to Kinmel Hall to establish a health spa. In World War Two Kinmel Hall was requisitioned by the military so the Lindleys moved into The Lodge. George died in 1950 and Florence in 1952.

The Lowther College names on the Petition are nearly all pupils. Few were 18 and the youngest only 12. Given what we know of her, it would not be surprising if Florence allowed or even encouraged her pupils to sign, whether they were 18 or not. However, it is notable that the petition they signed (7/13) is in Welsh. Probably few, if any, of the College signatories understood Welsh. Perhaps Mrs Lindley was genuinely unaware of the “18 & over” rule.