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Wednesday July 15 | 2020
Why one female journalist’s extraordinary life is being celebrated beyond the grave A new memorial has been unveiled to commemorate Britain’s first female newspaper editor Rachel Beer who lived in Tunbridge Wells. Here Caroline Auckland tells Eileen Leahy why it was so important to celebrate Rachel’s life
R
ACHEL BEER was England’s first female newspaper overseeing the running of The Observer and The Sunday Times during 1893. And although she was born in India and lived most of her life in London, she moved to Tunbridge Wells when her husband died in 1903. Rachel lies buried in the town’s cemetery, just south of the Victorian Twin Chapels, and for years her grave’s inscription simply stated that she was the daughter of David Sassoon. There was no reference to her illustrious and pioneering career as a journalist or indeed her achievement on
RACHEL BEER Fleet Street’s first female editor
‘We are delighted that the contribution of Rachel Beer to Victorian news reporting as the first female editor of both The Sunday Times and The Observer in the 1890s has finally been commemorated’
GRAVE ERROR Rachel’s original tombstone (far right) only acknowledged her parents but the new one (below) details her professional accomplishments
becoming the first female editor on Fleet Street. But thanks to a campaign by Times newspaper columnist Ann Treneman supported by the Friends of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery that has recently changed. One of its members, Caroline Auckland picks up the story: “A few years ago Times columnist Ann Treneman became interested in Rachel Beer after writing her book Finding the Plot: 100 Graves to Visit before you Die. Ann wrote about Rachel in her column in 2018 remarking on the absence of information about Rachel’s journalistic achievements and records that her grave identifies her only as the ‘daughter of the late David Sassoon’.
“After reading Ann’s piece The Friends of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery contacted Ann and guided her on how to go about finding out who owned the grave and how to liaise with the Registrar. “We were also able to obtain a copy of the burial grant awarded to Rachel’s nephew Michael Sassoon (elder brother of Siegfried Sassoon) and advised on contact with the Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship. “Thanks to Ann’s campaign the restoration of Rachel’s grave marker in white Carrara marble was paid for by The
Sunday Times and The Observer. The retoration work was carried out by local stonemason’s Burslem Memorials of Frant, East Sussex.” Caroline goes on to say that The Friends of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery had already identified Rachel Beer as being a woman of importance and influence when researching women’s graves for hidden stories for its International Women’s Day event in 2018.
Recognised “This celebrated the centenary of women over 30 being given the vote and Rachel’s story was told on our group’s walking tour at the time. “Since the story has come to light the authors of First Lady of Fleet Street, Eilat Negev and Yehuda Koren have been in contact with the Friends of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery and have told us they are delighted with the news that Rachel’s place in history has been recognised by the work undertaken by Ann Treneman.” The organisation has also been contacted by the Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship and family members in Australia. “Joanna Sassoon has informed us about an oak tree that was planted by Rachel Beer’s sister in law Theresa Sassoon on Matfield Village Green in order to commemorate the signing of the Armistice in 1918,” adds Caroline. “We are delighted that the contribution of Rachel Beer to Victorian news reporting as the first female editor of both The Sunday Times and The Observer in the 1890s has finally been commemorated. This is especially fitting in the year that the second female editor of The Sunday Times, Emma Tucker, has been appointed.” Caroline says that the group hopes to carry out an official event to celebrate the restoration of grave at some point but obviously this will be dependent upon the current health crisis restrictions being lifted. “We very much hope that Ann Treneman and a family representative will be able to attend plus many of the other people who have expressed an interest in Rachel’s story,” states Caroline. The Friends of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery welcome new members who may be interested in researching the rich history of Tunbridge Wells residents who are buried in the cemetery. Please contact us via our website https://foftwc. wixsite.com/foftwc