November 2009

A packed room greeted Dan Allen on 19th October for his talk entitled “The Colonels' Lady and Judy O'Grady.” The talk looked at Women in the Victorian Army around the dates of 1850 to 1915. Dan described this as 35 years of research and a lifetime obsession.

Dan started his talk by noting that soldiers in the army were not allowed to marry unless they had permission to do so from their superior officer. Even if permission was given, marriage was discouraged. However the higher classes in the army, officers could marry depending on their rank. Captains could marry, majors should marry and colonels must marry.