SIR - I am sure readers would have been interested to hear about Margaret Wintringham (nee Longbottom) in your recent nostalgia feature (T&A, July 23).
Margaret became the first British-born female to take her seat in the House of Commons after winning the Louth by-election for the Liberals in 1921.
Margaret was born in the Oakworth hamlet of Oldfield in 1879, where her father was the headmaster of the local school.
The family later moved to Silsden, and in 1900 Margaret married Lincolnshire timber merchant Thomas Wintringham, who became MP for Louth in 1920. After his sudden death the following year in the House of Commons reading-room, Margaret was selected to replace him. In 2021, I was delighted to attend a ceremony at Oldfield Primary School when former Keighley MP Ann Cryer unveiled a blue plaque in tribute to my cousin’s achievements.
Tim Clapham, Glen View Grove, Nab Wood
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