Doris Birdsall

Doris Birdsall CBE (20 July 1915 – 11 June 2008) was a Labour councillor for 26 years, first for Bradford Moor and later Wyke, and Lord Mayor of Bradford during 1975–1976.

Life

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Doris Birdsall was the daughter of a mill-working mother and a trade union organiser father. She was educated at Hanson Girls' Grammar School, leaving when she was 16, and married in 1940. Eight years later, Birdsall moved with her husband to Hartlepool.[1][2]

She joined the Labour Party in 1948. Returning to Bradford during the mid-1950s, Doris was elected to the city council in 1958, winning a seat in Bradford Moor. She switched to Wyke 13 years later, serving as councillor from 1971 to 1984. Birdsall, who moved to Baildon, was Lord Mayor from 1975 to 1976.[1][2]

In 1984, she retired from local politics, and, in 1986, was appointed a CBE "for services to education". She died in 2008, leaving two children, two grandchildren, and a great-grandson.[1][3][4]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Proctor, Jacki (19 June 2008). "Doris Birdsall". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b Birdsall, Doris. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U7599.
  3. ^ Winrow, Jo. "Tributes as former Lord Mayor dies". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Doris Birdsall Obituary". Legacy. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Tom Edward Hall
Lord Mayor of Bradford
1975–1976
Succeeded by
Frank Hillam