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and became the Deputy
Assistant Secretary in the Establishment Branch from 1920 to 1922. She became a permanent civil servant in 1923 after passing the first competitive examination for super-clerical grade women, in which she placed first. She then held positions in the Ministry of Pensions and the
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Following her retirement from the civil service in 1941, Curtis was elected
Principal of Newnham College, taking office in January 1942. She would hold the post until 1954. She enabled the college to carry on in the face of wartime and immediate post-war restrictions, and as a civil servant, worked
228:. In 1952 she was the first woman elected to the council of the Senate at Cambridge, and she chaired the women's appointments board. She also chaired a committee which promoted the establishment of a third women's college to accommodate the growing number of women at Cambridge: the result was
205:, which was described as "the first enquiry in this country directed specifically to the care of children deprived of a normal home life". It was presented to the Labour government, which replaced the war-time coalition government in 1945. The report led to the enactment of the
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Post Office. Later, she was assumed the
Assistant Secretary and Director of Women's Establishments in the Treasury, which was considered the premier women's post in the Civil Service. She retired from government work in 1942,
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Curtis' civil service career began in 1915 when she became part of the temporary staff of the War Trade
Intelligence Department. By 1918, she transferred to the
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to improve the efficiency of academic administration. It was a difficult and frustrating process, particularly amid the restrictions of the post-war period.
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Curtis played an important part in the negotiations on behalf of the women's colleges which resulted in women finally being awarded degrees from the
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Champions for children, revised edition: The lives of modern child care pioneers
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while his wife was an elementary school teacher. Curtis was educated at
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Curtis headed a government committee addressing children care for
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MZ (2013), Cathy
Hartley (ed.), "Curtis, Dame Myra (1886–1971)",
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Curtis was created a Dame of the
British Empire in 1949.
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for seven years while also working as a private tutor.
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331:(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
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290:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
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512:20th-century British women civil servants
406:. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. p. 40.
542:Principals of Newnham College, Cambridge
376:A Historical Dictionary of British Women
251:A Historical Dictionary of British Women
201:in 1946. This resulted to the so-called
469:Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
328:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
287:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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130:(2 October 1886 – 27 June 1971) was an
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278:Mary Alvey Thomas (2004).
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164:Winchester High School
402:Bob, Holman (2013).
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281:"Curtis, Dame Myra"
142:from 1942 to 1954.
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527:British feminists
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34:portrait by
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156:Post Office
95:Predecessor
22:Myra Curtis
491:Categories
473:1942–1954
354:required.)
306:required.)
236:References
152:Sunderland
146:Early life
57:Sunderland
49:1886-10-02
115:Parent(s)
105:Successor
78:, England
59:, England
342:12 April
230:New Hall
195:England
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132:editor
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
