Gladys Frances Miriam Wright Malling Blue Plaque

Pioneer of Physical Education, founder of English Gymnastic Society, life-saving hero, competitive and long distance open water swimmer.

Gladys Frances Miriam Wright

Pioneer of Physical Education, founder of English Gymnastic Society, life-saving hero, competitive and long distance open water swimmer.

Gladys Wright went from grocer’s assistant to founding her own college of physical education. Leaving school with no qualifications she travelled to study at colleges and universities in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. She was a pioneer, determined to introduce new ideas in teaching in the UK. Gladys attracted loyalty and respect in friends and acquaintances, as well as many influential people who took up her cause.

Early Life

Gladys was born on 8 July 1891 in West Malling Kent. Her parents Clara Wright (nee Hunter) from Australia, and Edward Henry Wright, ran the family’s grocery and wine merchant’s shop on the High Street. By 1901 the family had moved to Gravesend and then to Chatham by 1911. In Chatham Gladys was employed as a cashier in a grocery and provisions shop, however she was clearly a proficient swimmer and was employed part-time to teach girls to swim by the City of Rochester Education Committee.

World War One

During WWI Gladys organized swimming galas to entertain and raise money for wounded soldiers, and she also worked for the Red Cross Strood Voluntary Aid Detachment. By then Gladys was attracting media attention for her long-distance swimming. In a 9-mile race along the River Medway, Gladys was pitted against a field of male non-commissioned officers, not only did she win, but the next competitor finished 35 minutes behind her! In 1919 the organisers of a 5-mile race along the Thames invited Gladys to take part, but when it emerged that she had been paid as a swimming coach she was classed as being a “professional” and her entry was cancelled.

A love for teaching

Autumn 1919 Gladys was taken on to coach children at the Chatham Junior Commercial School in swimming and other forms of physical exercise. Teaching attracted Gladys, but she didn’t have any qualifications, so during the Commercial School’s summer holiday in July 1920 she travelled to London to obtain a passport, then took a ferry to Denmark where she attended a one-month training course at the Junker Institute in Silkeborg, Denmark. The Institute taught Ling’s system of Swedish gymnastics in courses aimed at teachers. For the next ten years Gladys divided her time between teaching and studying. Teaching at the Tiffin Girls’ School, Kingston-upon-Thames, Chelsea Polytechnic, Bergman Ӧsterberg Physical Training College at Dartford, and Richmond County School for Girls. Whilst also studying the Scandinavian systems of exercise in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In 1923 Gladys used her newly acquired knowledge to set up her own annual Scandinavian gymnastics summer schools at Herne Bay College, before they moved to Milner Court, Sturry (now part of Junior King’s School), in the 1930s. The courses were aimed at teachers and featured gymnastics, swimming, diving and dance. News reels from the time show Gladys conducting a large gymnastics display, and students taking part in a fancy-dress gala. During her travels Gladys had met Stina Kreuger from Sweden, a lecturer of physical education, the two would remain close friends and business partners for the rest of their lives.

Lifesaving

Gladys made the headlines of the national newspapers when, in June 1920, she plunged into the river fully clothed, to rescue Alfred Gilbert, a five-year-old, who had fallen off Rochester pier into the Medway. There followed a second rescue in August 1920 when Gladys and some friends were sailing on the Medway. A Mr A Burgess fell overboard from his motorboat, and again Gladys jumped in fully dressed and supported him until a rope could be thrown from the boat.

Development of new ideas

By the mid-1930s Gladys and Stina were busy organizing the summer schools, putting on large displays of Scandinavian gymnastics around the UK, and organizing study trips to Denmark. They also had the time to found the English Gymnastics Society. Gladys came to realise that a permanent base for promoting physical exercise was needed. In July 1938 Gladys and Stina were running the annual summer school at Sturry when St Albans Court at Nonington, came on the market. St Albans Court had everything they needed, accommodation and lots of land, but the asking price was high. Gladys set up a company that issued shares, secured loans and attracted donations, and through this was able to scrape together enough money to secure St Albans Court. By July 1938 St Albans Court was ready to be opened as Nonington College of Physical Education. The original aim was to recruit 30 female students per year to study a three-year diploma course, a target it quickly met. The War saw the College evacuate first to Avoncroft College and then to Grafton Manor Hotel, both in the Bromsgrove area. Meanwhile St Albans Court was rented out to Eastry and District Rural District Council for the duration of WWII.

The college at Nonington

The College returned to Nonington in the summer of 1945. From 1945 to 1951 the College received good reports from official inspectors, and its students excelled in local and national sporting events. In 1949 Gladys led three teams of Nonington students to the Lingiad in Sweden, a major event featuring 15,000 gymnasts from 60 countries. She had come full circle, from being a student of physical exercise in Sweden, to leading her own students in the event. However, the late 1940s saw changes to funding of education meaning running a private college was no longer viable, Gladys was approaching 60 and must have seen that it was time to retire. Gladys started negotiations with Kent Council culminating in 1951 with the sale of her beloved College to the Council.

Life after the college

To begin with Gladys and Stina stayed in Nonington, they simply moved to a house close by with views of their college. There followed a move to Old Dover Road, Canterbury, Gladys was actively involved with the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral and the new house must have been more convenient. Gladys was also a proud member of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men, and she kept up with her many friends from the field of physical education. When Stina died on 7 July 1977 Gladys moved into a flat in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral. Gladys died on 19 June 1980.

Gladys’s legacy, a flourishing college 1951 to1986

As new initiatives were introduced by the government, the college changed. Male students were welcomed, the number of students quadrupled, degrees in Movement Studies and then later Performing Arts were introduced but by 1986 small specialist colleges were phased out and the college had to close.

Decoration for Gladys.

In 1934 Gladys was awarded the Medal, First Class with golden cross, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in recognition of public service to the cause of gymnastics and Anglo-Finnish relations.

A tribute from a Nonington student of Gladys.

From Doreen Webster née Wilkinson, Nonington College 1946-49.
"There's nothing as satisfying as paying tribute to those who left a mark on us. Your indelible mark remains with me. You taught me well. Thank you for your dedication, your efforts, patience and wisdom. "

Further information about Gladys Frances Miriam Wright

International Gymnastic Demonstration - Royal Albert Hall 1937 (PDF booklet)