Winifred Elizabeth Cavenagh OBE (née Speakman; 12 November 1908 – 7 May 2004) was a British criminologist, social scientist, and academic. She joined the University of Birmingham as a lecturer in social studies in 1946 and was made Professor of Social Administration and Criminology in 1972: she retired from academia in 1976 and was appointed professor emeritus. Outside of her university career, she served as a local magistrate, on numerous boards, and, after study law and qualifying, worked as a barrister.

Early life and education

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Cavenagh was born 12 November 1908 in Manchester, England to Arthur Speakman and Ethel Speakman (née Butterworth).[1][2] She was educated at Broughton and Crumpsall High School for Girls, a school in Salford, Greater Manchester.[2] She studied economics at the London School of Economics, University of London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.[1] After graduating, she undertook a further year of study at the University of Bonn.[2] She was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree by the University of Birmingham in 1959 for her monograph The Child and the Court.[1][2]

Career

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From 1931 to 1938 she worked as a sales manager at Lewis's, a chain of department stores.[1][2] After two years employed in social work, she joined the Ministry of Labour as the chief welfare officer for Birmingham.[2] She served in that role from 1941 till the end of the Second World War in 1945.[1]

In 1946, Cavenagh joined the University of Birmingham as a lecturer in social studies.[2][3] That year, she also became a co-opted expert member of the Birmingham City Council Education Committee.[1] In 1960, she was promoted to senior lecturer.[2] She spent 1971 as a visiting professor in criminology at the University of Ghana.[1][2] Having returned to Birmingham, she was appointed Professor of Social Administration and Criminology in 1972.[1] She retired from full-time academia in 1976 and was appointed emeritus professor.[1]

In 1949, Cavenagh became a magistrate in the City of Birmingham.[1][3] She choose to study law alongside her university teaching, and was called to the bar (qualifying as a barrister) at Gray's Inn in 1964.[2] She served as a deputy chairperson at the magistrates' court from 1970 to 1978.[1] She was added to the supplemental list, effectively retiring from her judicial duties, in 1978.[1]

Personal life

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In 1938, the then Winifred Speakman married Hugh Cavenagh.[1] The marriage brought one step son.[2] Her husband predeceased her, dying in 1967.[2]

Honours

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In the 1977 New Year Honours, Cavenagh was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Wages Councils.[4]

Selected works

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  • Cavenagh, Winifred E. (1953). Four Decades of Students in Social Work.
  • Cavenagh, Winifred E. (1959). The Child and the Court. London: Victor Gonnancz.
  • Cavenagh, Winifred E. (1967). Juvenile Courts, The Child and the Law. London: Penguin Books.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Cavenagh, Prof. Winifred Elizabeth". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U10488. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Professor Winifred Cavenagh". The Times. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b The Writers Directory: 1980-82. London: Macmillan Press. 2016. p. 207. ISBN 9781349036509. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ "No. 47102". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1976. pp. 9–10.