(cont)

Description:The parish magazines from St. Mary and St. Ambrose Church in Edgbaston have more to tell us about Helen’s work. The magazine of March 1908 records that Miss Newill had been chosen by the Anglican diocese of Birmingham to become first head of the ‘Diocesan Training Home for Women Workers’ with headquarters at ‘Bethany’, 315 Hagley Road, Birmingham [15]. The home provided a residence with instruction and training for women who wished to carry out religious and philanthropic work in the diocese. The ‘Birmingham Diocesan Calendar for 1911’ records that ‘Ladies may be admitted to take up their residence in the Home and devote themselves to the work for the whole or portions of the year. They will wear a distinctive dress of simple character when engaged in work, and at other times at their own discretion.’ Here then, perhaps, is the source of the distinctive head dress worn by Miss Newill in her photograph.

Miss Newill remained in post as head of the training home until 1916. The eighth annual report of ‘Bethany’ pays tribute to her work:

‘Miss Newill has, to their great regret, been compelled to resign her post as Head because of ill health. But they are glad to hear that before long she hopes to be strong enough to undertake some lighter task in the diocese of Truro. It would be quite impossible here to say how much Bethany owes to Miss Newill. From the first start she has brought devotion, capacity and the best kind of religious influence, to bear upon a work that under her guidance has been consolidated into a permanent of the organisation of the Birmingham diocese.’[16]

The committee of Hope Lodge paid tribute to Miss Newill in their annual report for 1914:

‘We have to record that owing to continued ill-health necessitating her departure from Birmingham, Miss Helen Newill has resigned her office as Chairman of the Committee of the Association.…It is not too much to say that Hope Lodge owes its origin not only to her knowledge and enthusiasm, but also to the fact that at the critical period of the initiation of the work, Miss Newill was one of the King’s Norton Guardians and was largely instrumental in bringing about the existing alliance of the Guardians and a voluntary body of workers, both equally anxious to extend a helping hand to girls erring, but reclaimable.’[17]

After this date, Miss Newill appears to have moved to Cornwall and can be found listed in a 1920 telephone directory as organisational secretary for the diocese of Truro, living at ‘Trevosa’ in Kenwyn [18]. I am yet to find any further information regarding Miss Newill’s life in Cornwall and would welcome contact from anyone who has knowledge of her later life.