Ajay Kumar at 14:34, 15 August 2023

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{{Infobox person
| name = Clare Spurgin
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE|JP}}
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name = Frances Clare Skurray
| birth_date = 2 September 1897
| birth_place = [[Abingdon, Berkshire]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|12 December 1986|2 September 1897}}
| death_place = [[Moreton-in-Marsh]], Gloucestershire, England
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| alma_mater = [[University College London]] <br /> [[University of Oxford]]
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for = Youth justice work
| notable_works =
}}
'''Frances Clare Spurgin''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|OBE|JP}} ({{née}} '''Skurray'''; 2 September 1897 – 12 December 1986) was a British [[Magistrate (England and Wales)|lay magistrate]] and [[Youth justice in England and Wales|youth justice]] activist. She was active in [[Gloucestershire]], England and internationally, and served as president of the International Association of Youth Magistrates (IAYM).<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB |first=Anne |last=Logan |title=Spurgin (née Skurray), (Frances) Clare (1897–1986) |id=369121 |date=8 August 2019 }}</ref> She had "gained an international reputation for her work for [[young offenders]]".<ref name="obit Times">{{cite news |title=Mrs Clare Spurgin |work=The Times |issue=62641 |date=15 December 1986 |page=16}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Frances Clare Skurray was born on 2 September 1897 in [[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]], Berkshire, England. She was the eldest child of Thomas Skurray (1868–1938) and Mabel Edith Skurray (née Harris; 1871–1921).<ref name="ODNB" /> Her father was a brewery manager at her birth and rose to become chairman of [[Morland Brewery]], of the [[Brewers' Society]], and of [[Berkshire County Council]].<ref name="ODNB" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Skurray |url=https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/abingdon_people/thomas-skurray |website=Abingdon Area Archaeology and History Society |publisher=Abingdon on Thames Town Council |access-date=12 August 2023 |date=2015}}</ref> Her maternal grandfather had served as mayor of Abingdon.<ref name="ODNB" />

She was educated at a school in [[Folkestone]] and [[St Helen and St Katharine|St Helen's School, Abingdon]], an all-girls [[Independent school (UK)|independent school]] run by Anglican nuns. She then began the study of medicine at [[University College London]] and the [[Royal Free Hospital]]. However, following the death of her mother in 1921, she ended her medical studies and returned to the family home in Abingdon.<ref name="ODNB" /> She then undertook studies in [[anthropology]] at the [[University of Oxford]], graduating with a diploma.<ref name="ODNB" /><ref>{{cite web |title=University of Oxford Diploma in Anthropology |url=http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/sma/index.php/articles/article-index/339-university-of-oxford-diploma-in-anthropology.html |website=web.prm.ox.ac.uk |access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref>

==Career==
===India===
In 1925, she married Captain Arthur Rushworth Spurgin, an Indian Army officer. They lived in India for the next seven years and had three children together. Using her earlier aborted studies in medicine, she established a hospital in [[Sialkot]], Punjab, for the wives of Indian Army soldiers. For this, she was awarded the [[Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service]] in silver. She was widowed in May 1934, when her husband died from [[Leukemia|leukaemia]].<ref name="ODNB" />

===Early work in England===
Following the death of her husband, she returned to England with her children. After the death of her father in 1938, she moved to [[Blockley]], Gloucestershire. There, she became active in the [[Women's Institute]]. She went on to be elected as a [[parish councillor]] and to the [[North Cotswold Rural District|North Cotswolds Rural]] [[Rural district|District Council]]. She had a particular interest in housing policy and the provision of village amenities.<ref name="ODNB" />

In 1939, the [[Second World War]] broke out. Spurgin turned her family home into a school for [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated children]]. She also became the local leader of the [[Women's Voluntary Service]], and was the voluntary food officer for her village to ensure equitable distribution of food in the event of an invasion. She led the district fundraising campaign as part of [[Warship Week]] 1942 for [[HMS Cotswold (L54)|HMS ''Cotswold'']].<ref name="ODNB" />

===Magistrate===
Spurgin was appointed a [[justice of the peace]] (JP) for [[Gloucestershire]] in 1943.<ref name="ODNB" /> As was common for female JPs, she became a specialist in youth court work and became the chair of the panel of juvenile court justices for her county.<ref name="MA bio">{{cite web |title=100 years of women magistrates: Clare Spurgin |url=https://www.magistrates-association.org.uk/About-Magistrates/History-of-the-magistracy/100-years-of-women-magistrates#Clare-Spurgin |website=magistrates-association.org.uk |publisher=Magistrates Association |access-date=12 August 2023 |date=2019}}</ref> She would rise through the county's administration to become a member of the [[lord lieutenant]]'s advisory committee (that selected new JPs), the county's [[police authority]], and became chair of the Gloucestershire probation committee.<ref name="ODNB" />

Spurgin also was active at national and international levels. She was involved in the national [[Magistrates' Association]] and represented it at the third congress of the ''L'Association Internationale des Juges des Enfants'' (AIJE) in 1950. At the 1966 seventh congress of the AIJE, now renamed as the International Association of Youth Magistrates (IAYM), she was elected its president; she was the first British citizen, first woman, and first lay justice to be its president. As IAYM president, she travelled worldwide visiting and attempting to make improvements to youth court justices, institutions for young people, probation service providers, and to child welfare. She also co-founded the Commonwealth Magistrates' Association with [[Thomas Skyrme]]. In retirement, she was made honorary life president of the IAYM. She continued to travel and make advancements in international co-operation between youth justices and youth justice organisations.<ref name="ODNB" />

==Personal life==
On 13 August 1925, she married Captain Arthur Rushworth Spurgin (1899–1934), an [[Indian Army]] officer who served in the [[3rd Sikh Pioneers]].<ref name="ODNB" /> Together they had three children.<ref name="ODNB" /> In 1961, her only daughter, Cecilia Jane, married George Gordon MacMillan, son of General [[Sir Gordon MacMillan]] and future chief of [[Clan MacMillan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Marriages |work=The Times |issue=55177 |date=14 September 1961 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chief George MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap |url=https://www.clanmacmillan.org/pages/about/chief.html |website=www.clanmacmillan.org |access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref>

Having suffered a stroke, Spurgin died at the North Cotswolds Hospital in [[Moreton-in-Marsh]], Gloucestershire, England, on 12 December 1986.<ref name="ODNB" /> Her funeral was held at [[Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blockley]] on 10 January 1987.<ref>{{cite news |title=Memorial Services |work=The Times |issue=62647 |date=22 December 1986 |page=15}}</ref>

==Honours==
Spurgin received a number of national, academic and honorary awards during her lifetime.

In the [[1965 Queen's Birthday Honours]], Spurgin was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in recognition of her service as chair of the Blockley Petty Sessional Division of Gloucestershire.<ref name="LG 4 June 1965">{{London Gazette |issue= 43667 |date= 4 June 1965 |page= 5484 |supp= y |city= |title= |quote=}}</ref> She was awarded the Cross of Honour of the [[Order of Saint Raymond of Peñafort]] by the Spanish government "for services to international co-operation among magistrates and judges of juvenile courts".<ref name="ODNB" />

On 30 June 1983, Spurgin was awarded an [[Honorary degree|honorary]] [[Doctor of Civil Law]] (DCL) degree by [[Durham University]].<ref name="ODNB" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Catalogue of Durham University Records: Central Administration and Officers |url=https://reed.dur.ac.uk/xtf/view?docId=ark/32150_s1tx31qh77k.xml;query=Clare%20Spurgin#1 |website=reed.dur.ac.uk |access-date=12 August 2023 |quote=UND/CJ1/1983B 30 June 1983 1. Durham, Castle Great Hall, honorary degree speeches. DCL F. Clare Spurgin}}</ref> In 1984, she was elected an [[honorary fellow]] of [[St Anne's College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite news |title=University news: Oxford |work=The Times |issue=61808 |date=17 April 1984 |page=16}}</ref>

==Selected works==

* {{cite journal |author1=Mrs. Clare Spurgin, J.P. |title=In other Lands: Problem Families in Holland |journal=Probation |date=July 1954 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=37-39 |doi=10.1177/02645505540070040 |publisher=National Association of Probation Officers}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Spurgin |first1=F. C. |title=Neglectful Mothers |journal=British Medical Journal |date=18 February 1956 |volume=1 |issue=4963 |pages=397–397 |doi=10.1136/bmj.1.4963.397-c}}
* {{cite book |last1=Spurgin |first1=Clare |title=My journey |date=1986 |publisher=Epsilon Press |location=Letchworth |isbn=9781850270027}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:British magistrates]]
[[Category:British women activists]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Abingdon-on-Thames]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal]]

Clare Spurgin - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 14:34, 15 August 2023