Dates

• Existence: June 1876 - 1951
• Usage: 1901 - 1951
• Usage: 1876 - 1901

Biography

Catherine Margaret Kilner was born in June 1876, the daughter of Walter John Kilner and Margaret Catherine Kilner. Her father was a medical practitioner in Kensington, London, where the family lived. She married Cyril Norwood on 19th December 1901 in Notting Hill and they had three daughters together between 1902 and 1908, Enid, Aileen and Barbara. Catherine supported Cyril throughout his career as a successful and highly regarded scholar and headmaster, and one of the most influential educational thinkers of the period, whilst also engaging in her own charity work. She was awarded the Médaille de la Reine Elisabeth by the Belgian government in 1918, in recognition of her work as Secretary to the Belgian Refugees Committee, Bristol, during the years 1914 to 1916.

Catherine accompanied Cyril Norwood as he took a leading role in international conferences, including sessions of the New Education Fellowship Conference, during a visit to the USA, New Zealand and Australia in the 1930’s, and she kept a journal of their experiences on the tour. Cyril was knighted in 1938 during his time as president of his old Oxford college, St John's, and from then on Catherine was known as Lady Norwood. Catherine and Cyril were married for fifty years until her death in 1951 at their home in Iwerne Minster, Dorset.

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