Background
Martyn was born in Lincoln, the eldest child of Superintendent James William Martyn, who later became Deputy Chief Constable of Lincolnshire, and his wife Kate Eleanor (née Hewitt).
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Caroline Martyn
Edit ProfileDeputy Chief Constable of Lincolnshire
Education
She was educated at Beaumont House School in the city and at the age of eighteen began work as a governess.
Career
Her parents were devout High Anglicans and active in the Conservative Party. In 1891, she was appointed a governess at the Royal Orphanage Asylum in Wandsworth, London, and joined the London Fabian Society. Foreign a while, in 1893, she was a sub-editor on the Christian Weekly.
Although she had many articles published in journals, Martyn was predominantly known as a lecturer.
She became nationally recognised and large crowds turned up to hear her speak as she travelled round the country. In 1896, she was elected to the National Administrative Council of the Independent Labour Party and became editor of Fraternity, the journal of the International Society for the Brotherhood of Manitoba, and ILP trades union organiser for the North of Scotland.
The work and travel, however, undermined her already-fragile health, and a few months later she contracted pneumonia while organising female workers in Dundee. She died a few days later at the age of 29 and was buried in Balgay Cemetery in the city.
Politics
She briefly became a radical and then a socialist. The following year, ill-health forced her to give up work and she began to devote herself full-time to the socialist cause. Keir Hardie wrote that she was the leading socialist of her day.
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Born
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Died
July 23, 1896 (aged 29) -
Nationality
United Kingdom -
Religion
Christian -
Political Party
Conservative Party