Person Open DS/UK/5625 Ashwell; Lena (28 September 1872-13 March 1957); British actress, theatre manager, producer and activist Ashwell Lena 28 September 1872-13 March 1957 British actress, theatre manager, producer and activist Female (cisgender) Lena Margaret Pocock | Lena Margaret Ashwell River Tyne, Newcastle, England (born - on the Wellesley ship)

Canada, United Kingdom (residence - childhood)

British Actor / Manager Activist; Women's Rights White No known disability No known religious affiliation Daughter of Charles Ashwell Boteler Pocock (Royal Navy Commander) and Sarah Margaret Stevens Spouse of Sir Henry John Forbes Simson (royal obstetrician, he delivered the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret) Former spouse of Arthur Playfair (actor) Former partner of Robert Taber (actor) Heterosexual Lena Ashwell OBE was a British actress and theatre manager and producer, known as the first to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I. She was born on the Wellesley while anchored in the River Tyne, at the time under her father's 'command' as a home for “boys 'unconvicted of crime' but under suspicion”. She studied music at Lausanne and at the Royal Academy of Music. Her voice however was insufficient for performance and she took up acting instead, thereafter styling herself as "Lena Ashwell". In 1891, she debuted in The Pharisee, and in 1895 she appeared in King Arthur, by J. Comyns Carr, with Dame Ellen Terry and Sir Henry Irving. She went on to appear in a number of Shakespeare productions, in Quo Vadis (1900), and as the lead in Mrs Dane's Defence (1900) and Leah Kleschna (1905). In 1906, Ashwell starred in The Shulamite, a melodrama about a South African woman in an unhappy marriage who falls in love with a visiting Englishman. The show ran for 45 performances at the Savoy Theatre between 12 May and 26 June 1906. In 1906, Ashwell took up theatre management, initially at the Savoy Theatre, then in 1907 she established her own theatre known as the Kingsway. During World War I she was an enthusiastic supporter of British war aims. Partly due to the influence of her acquaintance Princess Helena Victoria, and her connections to the YWCA, she was given permission to take a group of entertainers to the Western Front. Ashwell herself travelled to the front and became involved in fundraising and logistics of the concerts, as she believed in 'uplifting and therapeutic' power of music. After the war, Ashwell formed the Lena Ashwell Players which continued to appear throughout London and of whom Laurence Olivier was later to become a member. In 1924, she took over the old Bijou Theatre in Bayswater and renamed it The Century Theatre. This became the headquarters of The Lena Ashwell Players. Awards, Honours and Legacy: Ashwell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her efforts in organising shows during the war effort Activism and Views: In 1914, Ashwell was one of the founder members of the new United Suffragists group, led by the Pethick-Lawrences, which broke away from the moderate NUWSS and the militant WSPU suffragettes, seeking women's rights. During the later years of her life, she embraced the Moral Re-Armament movement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Ashwell (2020) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHhbryony 4/25/2013 RAHAKirkbride 11/7/2022 ca00fb97-bd7b-48dd-bae6-62df74fcb4c9