This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
The Countess of Swinton | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 25 February 1970 – 12 March 2023 Life peerage | |
Personal details | |
Born | Susan Lilian Primrose Sinclair 14 April 1935 |
Died | 12 March 2023 Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England | (aged 87)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Crossbench |
Spouse | |
Alma mater | Royal Polytechnic Institution (now University of Westminster) |
Sports career | |
Medal record | |
Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton, Baroness Masham of Ilton, DL (née Sinclair; 14 April 1935 – 12 March 2023) was a British crossbench member of the House of Lords, disability campaigner and Paralympic athlete.[1] She was the founder and life-long president of the Spinal Injuries Association.[2] She was Vice President of the Snowdon Trust, founded by the Earl of Snowdon, which provides grants and scholarships for students with disabilities.[3] Her 53 years' membership of the House of Lords was the longest of any female peer.[1]
Personal life
Susan Sinclair was born on 14 April 1935,[4] as the daughter of Major Sir Ronald Sinclair, 8th Baronet. She was educated at Heathfield School and London Polytechnic (the Royal Polytechnic Institution).
In 1959 she married David Cunliffe-Lister, Lord Masham (1937–2006), who became Earl of Swinton in 1972. By this marriage, she became entitled to the honorifics Lady Masham, and, later, Countess of Swinton. She was created a life peer in the House of Lords in 1970 as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, of Masham in the North Riding of the County of York.
She was a prominent Roman Catholic convert and a patron of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology.
She and her husband (who died in 2006) adopted two children, Clare and Jessie.
She died on 12 March 2023 at Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.[5] She was 87.[6][1] A memorial service was held at Westminster Cathedral.[7]
Disability campaigner
Cunliffe-Lister sustained spinal cord injuries in 1958 in a riding accident, becoming paraplegic when she was 22 years old. Her rehabilitation took place at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where she met Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of the Paralympic movement.[8]
In 1974 she founded the Spinal Injuries Association an organisation which supports and advocates for spinal cord injured people. She was the life-long President.[1][2]
She was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1976 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the foyer of the De Vere hotel in Kensington, London. [citation needed]
Cunliffe-Lister was an active member of the House of Lords, where she continued to be known as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, a title she held in her own right. In 1970 she was the youngest Life peer and became the longest running female peer with 53 years of service.[2] She took a particular interest in disability rights, accessible public transport and accommodation, the added cost of living, rehabilitation, health including HIV/AIDs and Long Covid, and penal reform.[9]
She opened the factory for Nordis Signs, part of the Kier Group, in Northampton, which employs a majority-disabled workforce.[10] She continued to run the Masham Riding Centre in Masham, North Yorkshire until her death. Cunliffe-Lister was a longtime supporter of the charity Disability Action Yorkshire, becoming Patron in 2011.
Baroness Masham was President of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy from 1975 to 1982.[8] In 2011, she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Nursing.[11]
Paralympic career
Cunliffe-Lister competed in several Paralympic Games.[1] At the inaugural Games in Rome in 1960, she won swimming gold and silver in the 25m breaststroke complete class 2 and 25m backstroke complete class 2 respectively,[12] as well as bronze in the table tennis, women's doubles class B.[13]
Four years later, at the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics, she won gold in the table tennis women's doubles B alongside Gwen Buck, and silver in the women's singles B.[14] In the pool, Masham won three silver medals, in the 25m freestyle prone complete C2, 25m freestyle supine complete C2, and 25m breaststroke complete C2.[15]
At the 1968 Tel Aviv Paralympics, Masham added table tennis silver in the women's doubles B with Buck, and bronze in the women's singles B.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e Cooney, Christy (14 March 2023). "Baroness Masham, Paralympian and longest-serving female peer, dies aged 87". BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "In memory of Baroness Masham". SIA. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Our board". The Snowdon Trust. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's Peerage. doi:10.5118/bpbk.2003. ISBN 9780971196629.
- ^ Carr, Vicky (31 March 2023). "Inquest hears Lady Masham died from sepsis". The Stray Ferret. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Baroness Masham of Ilton". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ "Memorial Service for Baroness Masham held at Westminster Cathedral". Independent Catholic News. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Reflections on two unique and great women who served as presidents of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy". HISTORY.PHYSIO. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Spoken contributions of Baroness Masham of Ilton in the House of Lords". Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ Ames, Chris (24 October 2022). "Nordis points the way to supported employment". Highways Magazine. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ Rolls of Honour Archived 13 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Royal College of Nursing, 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ "Medallists Rome 1960 Paralympic Games Swimming". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Medallists Rome 1960 Paralympic Games Table Tennis". IPC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Medallists Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games Table Tennis". IPC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Results Archive Tokyo 1964 Swimming". IPC. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Medallists Tel Aviv 1968 Paralympic Games Table Tennis". IPC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
Sources
- University of East Anglia Honorary Degree Citation at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 April 2007)
- Masham Riding Centre Archived 15 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- 2nd Earl of Swinton, DL (1937-2006) – Google Peerage News Group
External links
- Portraits of Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton (Countess of Swinton) at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- House of Lords profile
- Listen to Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe-Lister speaking in 2022 to Tanni Grey-Thompson about her disability rights activism in the House of Lords. 20 minutes into the BBC programme Tanni Grey-Thompson: still not equal.[1]
- 1935 births
- 2023 deaths
- Alumni of the University of Westminster
- British countesses
- English Roman Catholics
- Clan Sinclair
- Converts to Roman Catholicism
- Crossbench life peers
- Dames of St. Gregory the Great
- Daughters of baronets
- Deputy lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire
- English female breaststroke swimmers
- British female breaststroke swimmers
- English female table tennis players
- English people with disabilities
- Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing
- Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II
- Life peers created by Elizabeth II
- Medalists at the 1960 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic medalists in swimming
- Paralympic medalists in table tennis
- Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain
- Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain
- Paralympic table tennis players for Great Britain
- People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot
- People from Masham
- Politicians with paraplegia
- British royalty and nobility with disabilities
- Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 1960 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 1964 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
- British politicians with disabilities
- English female backstroke swimmers
- British female backstroke swimmers