
Forgotten Women – Alderman Mary Fisher MBE JP 1884-1972
On this year’s International Women’s Day the Club celebrated the lives of local Women who were trail blazers. This included our First Club President Dr Kathleen Rutherford and Dr Laura Veale the First Woman from Yorkshire to qualify as a Doctor. We also celebrated the life of Alderman Mary Fisher, the First woman to become Mayor of Harrogate in 1949. Dr Kathleen and Dr Laura are both celebrated with Harrogate Civic Society plaques. Mary Fisher has a local Care Home named after her. Though the death of this ‘much beloved’ woman made front page news in the local papers in 1972 she is now all but forgotten. MARY FISHER MBE JP Who was Mary Fisher MBE JP? It was pure chance, whilst waiting for a funeral of a Club member that Club President Val noticed a grave at Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate. She had never heard