| Administrative History | Irene Speller Pickard was employed as personal secretary to James Rendel Harris from 1911-1923, whilst he was Director of Studies at Woodbrooke College. She accompanied Harris on a number of trips, including a Woodbrooke group trip to Norway in 1922, and the two appear to have had a close friendship, with regular correspondence throughout their working relationship, particularly whilst Harris was abroad on research trips. In 1978, Irene published the first biography on Harris in the form of her book 'Memories of James Rendel Harris', with help from fellow Quaker, Tom Bodine. There are many mentions of Irene throughout the JRH collection, and a number of volumes contain bookplates belonging to Irene and her husband Bertram Pickard.
Irene was born in 1891 as Irene Speller, and died in 1981, aged 90. One of her three daughters, Alison Bush, was the depositor of the JRH/4 collection, comprising material compiled by Irene Speller Pickard. |