International Women’s Day
A celebration of Blair Castle’s formidable Duchess Kitty
This International Women’s Day we celebrate Duchess Kitty, a former MP, musician, philanthropist and political activist.
First Encounters
In 1896 Kitty visited Blair Castle and unexpectedly fell for Lord Tullibardine, heir to the 7th Duke of Atholl, or ‘Bardie’ as he was known.
She was clever, spirited, and independent – not something Bardie had encountered before. Bardie wrote to Kitty and a love affair of the heart began and they married in1899.
World War I
In 1915 as World War One raged, Kitty went to Egypt which was close to Gallipoli where Bardie was stationed. Kitty quickly became involved in nursing with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), helping soldiers in hospital. She was also chairman of an executive committee that arranged concerts for troops and performed piano recitals for them.
Bardie and Kitty returned to Blair Castle in December 1916 and she became Duchess in January 1917 when the 7th Duke passed away.
As WW1 continued Kitty decided to open the ballroom and north wing at Blair Castle as a convalescent home which was staffed by the VAD and Red Cross.
Life in Parliament & Foreign Affairs
By 1920 Kitty was elected to the County Education Authority of Perthshire and was on over 25 committees with the primary goal of helping others. Her commitments and political prowess had not gone unnoticed, and in 1923 Kitty was elected as Scotland’s first female Member of Parliament and became one of only 3 female MPs at the time. From 1924 until 1929 Kitty was the first Conservative female minister in the Department of Education.
Concerned with foreign affairs, Kitty was a pioneer for women and children. Ahead of her time, she established a committee looking into female circumcision (FGM). Although an unpopular topic, this did not deter Kitty and she raised the issue in Parliament.
Kitty continued to champion human rights and in 1931 Kitty wrote Conscription of a People exposing horrors of Russian labour camps among other atrocities.
By 1936, the Spanish Civil war had broken out. Kitty travelled to the Spanish war zone in 1936 with two female MPs to see conditions for themselves.
They were shocked by the destruction and visited prisoners of war. Kitty considered the impact of the conflict on women and children, in particular. As a result, Kitty took action and arranged for the evacuation of 4,000 children to Britain.
As a fluent German speaker, Kitty read the original Mein Kampf by Hitler. Kitty escalated her concerns to the government about Hitler’s political ideologies as the available English version was considerably watered down. However, warnings went unheeded by the British government and due to lack of support in 1938 Kitty resigned her seat. provoking a by-election in which she stood as an independent candidate. The local conservative party raised a vicious campaign against the Duchess, backed by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and all his party resources.
Unsurprisingly, Kitty lost the election but only by a small margin. Sadly her predictions about Hitler proved true when he invaded Poland a mere nine months later.
Later Life
When her Westminster career ended Kitty returned to Blair Castle. She remained politically active and in 1942 when Bardie died she was invited to become Honorary Colonel-in-Chief of his old regiment, the Scottish Horse. Sadly, Kitty had no children but helped many throughout her life.
Kitty died in 1960 and is buried beside Bardie in small family plot near Blair Castle, close to St Bride’s Kirk.
