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Olwen Rhys
Olwen Rhys (4 March 1876 – 10 April 1953), also spelled Olwen Rhŷs, was a Welsh scholar and suffragist. She was a member of and later a lecturer for the Society of Oxford Home Students, which would go on to become St Anne's College, Oxford. In her honour, an Olwen Rhys Fellowship for graduate research was established at St Anne's College, Oxford.
After early education at home and at a convent school in France, Olwen went to the Oxford High School for Girls between 1884 and 1893. While a student there, she received awards for her linguistic performance, including an Ada Max Müller scholarship for German proficiency, the best marks in the country for her Higher Certificate of French, and the Gold Medal from the National Society for French Teachers.
She went on to become a lifetime member of the Society of Oxford Home Students (SOHS), which would later become St Anne's College in 1952, shortly before her death. In modern languages exams she took at Oxford in 1898, Rhys was highly commended. In 1901, Rhŷs received first class honours in Modern Languages when taking the university's women's exams but the University of Oxford would not grant degrees to women until 1920.
Rhys did not receive her MA in modern languages until 1924, after taking another series of examinations at Oxford, while living with her parents at the Principal's Lodgings in Jesus College. By this time, she had been working as a French tutor for the SOHS for around 20 years and as an examiner in French for the Central Welsh Board (a Welsh exam board) since 1904. Rhys became the first Home-Student to be appointed as an examiner for the University of Oxford in 1925, and, in 1929, was appointed as a French lecturer for the SOHS - a position she retained until 1946.
Rhys was also known as a scholar in Anglo-Norman history and edited various Anglo-Norman texts. For example, in 1946 together with Sir John Fox, she published an edition of a rhymed apocalypse for the Anglo-Norman Text Society.
Rhys served as secretary to the committee of the Oxford Women's Suffrage Society (OWSS), which often held meetings in her family's home. She is described as having been an "active suffragist" in a 2018 publication for the University of Oxford that marked the centenary of votes for women. In 1916, she represented her local area at a National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies council meeting in Chelsea.
Through the OWSS, she served in Europe in hospitals, hostels for refugees, and canteens during World War I. For example, she assisted Belgian soldiers and helped to provide entertainments for their wives through the OWSS and Commission for Relief in Belgium.
In 1916, Rhys denied the opportunity of becoming a temporary bursar at Somerville College, Oxford to volunteer in relief work for French war victims at the Hotel Bellevue in Samoëns, with her friend Eden Lewis, also a suffragist. While there, she was offered the position of director by Dr Hilda Clark, according to Clark's diaries.
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Olwen Rhys
Olwen Rhys (4 March 1876 – 10 April 1953), also spelled Olwen Rhŷs, was a Welsh scholar and suffragist. She was a member of and later a lecturer for the Society of Oxford Home Students, which would go on to become St Anne's College, Oxford. In her honour, an Olwen Rhys Fellowship for graduate research was established at St Anne's College, Oxford.
After early education at home and at a convent school in France, Olwen went to the Oxford High School for Girls between 1884 and 1893. While a student there, she received awards for her linguistic performance, including an Ada Max Müller scholarship for German proficiency, the best marks in the country for her Higher Certificate of French, and the Gold Medal from the National Society for French Teachers.
She went on to become a lifetime member of the Society of Oxford Home Students (SOHS), which would later become St Anne's College in 1952, shortly before her death. In modern languages exams she took at Oxford in 1898, Rhys was highly commended. In 1901, Rhŷs received first class honours in Modern Languages when taking the university's women's exams but the University of Oxford would not grant degrees to women until 1920.
Rhys did not receive her MA in modern languages until 1924, after taking another series of examinations at Oxford, while living with her parents at the Principal's Lodgings in Jesus College. By this time, she had been working as a French tutor for the SOHS for around 20 years and as an examiner in French for the Central Welsh Board (a Welsh exam board) since 1904. Rhys became the first Home-Student to be appointed as an examiner for the University of Oxford in 1925, and, in 1929, was appointed as a French lecturer for the SOHS - a position she retained until 1946.
Rhys was also known as a scholar in Anglo-Norman history and edited various Anglo-Norman texts. For example, in 1946 together with Sir John Fox, she published an edition of a rhymed apocalypse for the Anglo-Norman Text Society.
Rhys served as secretary to the committee of the Oxford Women's Suffrage Society (OWSS), which often held meetings in her family's home. She is described as having been an "active suffragist" in a 2018 publication for the University of Oxford that marked the centenary of votes for women. In 1916, she represented her local area at a National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies council meeting in Chelsea.
Through the OWSS, she served in Europe in hospitals, hostels for refugees, and canteens during World War I. For example, she assisted Belgian soldiers and helped to provide entertainments for their wives through the OWSS and Commission for Relief in Belgium.
In 1916, Rhys denied the opportunity of becoming a temporary bursar at Somerville College, Oxford to volunteer in relief work for French war victims at the Hotel Bellevue in Samoëns, with her friend Eden Lewis, also a suffragist. While there, she was offered the position of director by Dr Hilda Clark, according to Clark's diaries.