Sheila Lochhead

Sheila MacDonald Lochhead
Born	Sheila Ramsay MacDonald (1910-12-07)7 December 1910 Bloomsbury, London, England
Died	22 July 1994(1994-07-22) (aged 83) Swansea, Wales
Resting place	Holy Trinity Church, Spynie, Morayshire, Scotland
Other names	Sheila Lochhead
Education	North London Collegiate School
Alma mater	Somerville College, Oxford
Occupation	Prison visitor
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Andrew Lochhead ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	3
Parents	Ramsay MacDonald (father) Margaret Gladstone (mother)
Relatives	Malcolm MacDonald (brother) Ishbel MacDonald (sister)

Sheila Ramsay Lochhead (née MacDonald; 7 December 1910 – 22 July 1994) was a hostess, prison visitor and writer. In 1924 her widowed father, Ramsay MacDonald, became Britain's Prime Minister. Her sister Ishbel MacDonald, became his political hostess and then Sheila took on the role. Sheila later became a prison visitor, leading the National Association of Official Prison Visitors for three years.

Biography

Lochhead was born Sheila MacDonald in 1910, she was one of six children of Ramsay MacDonald, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and his wife Margaret MacDonald (née Gladstone), a social reformer and women's rights activist.^[1]

MacDonald was head girl at the North London Collegiate School. She then studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Somerville College, Oxford where she won a hockey blue and graduated with a 2:1. She reportedly hoped, at one time, to enter politics.^[2]

In 1924, her widowed father had become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Along with her sister Ishbel, she became her father's hostess while he was at 10 Downing Street, including when he was sent abroad on missions. Sheila found time to do this while also working at Wormwood Scrubs Prison.^[1]

Sheila married Andrew Van Slyke Lochhead in 1948. The couple had three children together and lived in Swansea, Wales.^[3]

Lochhead had worked in prisons and she wanted them reformed. She was chair of the National Association of Official Prison Visitors for three years^[1] and wrote a history of prison visiting in 1993 titled "Outside-in: A Study of Prison Visiting".^[4] She and her husband lived , and she organised a home for the homeless and a hostel for people who had been in prison.^[1]

Lochead died in 1994, a year after a stroke left her half paralysed.^[1] Her husband Andrew survived his wife for eight years, and died in 2002.^[5]

References

1. Lyon, Peter (23 September 2004). "MacDonald, Malcolm John (1901–1981), politician and diplomatist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31388. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "MacDonald Family". Amersham Museum. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
3. Ishbel MacDonald to Wed English House Decorator. The Pittsburgh Press – 14 February 1938 [1]
4. Lockhead, Sheila (February 1999). Outside in: Study I Visiting. William Sessions Limited. ISBN 978-1-85072-121-5.
5. "Andrew Lochhead". HeraldScotland. 1 January 2002. Retrieved 4 August 2023.