Created by Warofdreams
Last edited January 30, 2026
UpdateBot (talk | contribs)
robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)
m fix article per standard format and cleaned formatting
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|British county councillor, prison reformer, philanthropist, horticulturist and author}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{infobox officeholder
| honorific_suffix = [[Member of the British Empire|MBE]]
| birth_name = Xenia Noelle Lowinsky
| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|12|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Secunderabad]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|01|24|1894|12|25|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], UK
| occupation = Philanthropist, county councillor, and author
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]<br />[[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] (from 1982)
| office          = Member of the [[London County Council]]<br>for [[Paddington North (London County Council constituency)|Paddington North]]
| term            =
| term_start      = 1946
| term_end        = 1950
| nationality = British
| father = Thomas Hermann Lowinsky
| spouse = {{marriage| James Field|1936|1941|end=his death}}
}}
'''Xenia Noelle Field''' [[Member of the Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (née '''Lowinsky'''; 25 December 1894 – 24 January 1998) was a British county councillor, prison reformer, philanthropist, [[horticulture|horticulturist]] and author.
'''Xenia Noelle Field''' [[Member of the Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (née '''Lowinsky'''; 25 December 1894 – 24 January 1998) was a British county councillor, prison reformer, philanthropist, [[horticulture|horticulturist]] and author.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Field was born on 25 December 1894 at [[Secunderabad]], India, where her father [[Thomas Hermann Lowinsky]] was general manager of the [[Singareni Collieries Company|Hyderabad (Deccan) Co]] coal mines.<ref name="Buczacki">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/69295 |title=Oxford DNB article: Field, Xenia Noelle|last=Buczacki |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Buczacki |year=2004 |work=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=29 July 2014 }}</ref> On their return to England, the family lived at [[Tittenhurst Park]] in [[Berkshire]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> Field was a pupil at [[Heathfield School, Ascot|Heathfield School]], and then attended [[finishing school]] in [[Paris]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> Her father was a keen gardener, who won a [[Royal Horticultural Society]] gold medal.<ref name="Buczacki" />
Field was born on 25 December 1894 at [[Secunderabad]], India, where her father Thomas Hermann Lowinsky was general manager of the [[Singareni Collieries Company|Hyderabad (Deccan) Co]] coal mines.<ref name="Buczacki">{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/69295 |title=Oxford DNB article: Field, Xenia Noelle|last=Buczacki |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Buczacki |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/69295 |access-date=29 July 2014 }}</ref> On their return to England, the family lived at [[Tittenhurst Park]] in [[Berkshire]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> Field was a pupil at [[Heathfield School, Ascot|Heathfield School]], and then attended [[finishing school]] in [[Paris]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> Her father was a keen gardener, who won a [[Royal Horticultural Society]] gold medal.<ref name="Buczacki" />


==Career==
==Career==
In [[World War II]], after a stint in the [[Women's Royal Voluntary Service]], she led the [[Women's Organization for Salvage and Recovery]] for [[Herbert Morrison]] of the [[Ministry of Supply]].<ref name="Buczacki" />
In [[World War II]], after a stint in the [[Women's Royal Voluntary Service]], she led the [[Women's Organization for Salvage and Recovery]] for [[Herbert Morrison]] of the [[Ministry of Supply]].<ref name="Buczacki" />


With Morrison's support, she was elected as a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] member of [[London County Council]] in 1946, representing [[Paddington North (London County Council constituency)|Paddington North]] electoral division.<ref name="Buczacki" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Achievement: A short History of the London County Council|page=262|author=W Eric Jackson|publisher=[[Longmans]]|year=1965}}</ref> She stood, unsuccessfully, for parliament, first at [[North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Somerset]] in [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]] and then at [[Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)|Colchester]] in [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She also sat as a [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrate]], and became interested in [[prison reform]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She joined the breakaway [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] in 1982, shortly after their formation.<ref name="Buczacki" />
With Morrison's support, she was elected as a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] member of [[London County Council]] in 1946, representing [[Paddington North (London County Council constituency)|Paddington North]] electoral division.<ref name="Buczacki" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Achievement: A short History of the London County Council|page=262|author=W Eric Jackson|publisher=[[Longmans]]|year=1965}}</ref> She stood, unsuccessfully, for parliament, first at [[North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Somerset]] in [[1950 United Kingdom general election|1950]] and then at [[Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)|Colchester]] in [[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She also sat as a [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrate]], and became interested in [[prison reform]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She joined the breakaway [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) in 1982, shortly after their formation.<ref name="Buczacki" />


She used a bequest from her father to establish a [[charitable trust]], the [[Field Foundation]], under whose auspices she gave financial support to [[The Salvation Army]], persuading them to set up the first bail hostel in Britain, in 1971.<ref name="Buczacki" /> She was made a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1958, and appeared as a castaway on the [[BBC Radio]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on 12 June 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/24127a2c#p009y2rr |title=Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Xenia Field |work=[[BBC Online]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> She also won the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[The Veitch Memorial Medal|Veitch Memorial Medal]], in 1972.<ref name="Buczacki" />
She used a bequest from her father to establish a [[charitable trust]], the Field Foundation, under whose auspices she gave financial support to [[The Salvation Army]], persuading them to set up the first bail hostel in Britain, in 1971.<ref name="Buczacki" /> She was made a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1958, and appeared as a castaway on the [[BBC Radio]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on 12 June 1967.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/24127a2c#p009y2rr |title=Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Xenia Field |work=[[BBC Online]] |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> She also won the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[The Veitch Memorial Medal|Veitch Memorial Medal]], in 1972.<ref name="Buczacki" />


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Line 17: Line 35:


==Death==
==Death==
She died at Goldsborough Nursing Home, Ladbroke Road, [[Kensington]], London on 24 January 1998, from a [[stroke]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She was 103.
She died at Goldsborough Nursing Home, [[Ladbroke Road]], [[Kensington]], London on 24 January 1998, from a [[stroke]].<ref name="Buczacki" /> She was 103.


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
Line 40: Line 58:
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Telangana]]
[[Category:English garden writers]]
[[Category:English garden writers]]
[[Category:Prison reformers]]
[[Category:British prison reformers]]
[[Category:English centenarians]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Members of London County Council]]
[[Category:Members of London County Council]]
[[Category:English civil servants]]
[[Category:20th-century British civil servants]]
[[Category:English horticulturists]]
[[Category:20th-century British women civil servants]]
[[Category:British horticulturists]]
[[Category:English philanthropists]]
[[Category:English philanthropists]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors]]
Line 56: Line 73:
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates]]
[[Category:English people of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:English people of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:English people of South African descent]]
[[Category:20th-century British philanthropists]]
[[Category:20th-century British philanthropists]]
[[Category:Women centenarians]]
[[Category:British women centenarians]]
[[Category:Women councillors in England]]
[[Category:Women councillors in England]]
[[Category:People from Secunderabad]]
[[Category:British people in British India]]
[[Category:20th-century English women writers]]

Latest revision as of 00:36, 30 January 2026


Xenia Field
Member of the London County Council
for Paddington North
In office
1946–1950
Personal details
Born
Xenia Noelle Lowinsky

(1894-12-25)25 December 1894
Secunderabad, India
Died24 January 1998(1998-01-24) (aged 103)
London, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
SDP (from 1982)
Spouse(s)
James Field
(
m. 1936; his death 1941)
Parent(s)
  • Thomas Hermann Lowinsky (father)
OccupationPhilanthropist, county councillor, and author

Xenia Noelle Field MBE (née Lowinsky; 25 December 1894 – 24 January 1998) was a British county councillor, prison reformer, philanthropist, horticulturist and author.

Early life[edit | edit source]

Field was born on 25 December 1894 at Secunderabad, India, where her father Thomas Hermann Lowinsky was general manager of the Hyderabad (Deccan) Co coal mines.[1] On their return to England, the family lived at Tittenhurst Park in Berkshire.[1] Field was a pupil at Heathfield School, and then attended finishing school in Paris.[1] Her father was a keen gardener, who won a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal.[1]

Career[edit | edit source]

In World War II, after a stint in the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, she led the Women's Organization for Salvage and Recovery for Herbert Morrison of the Ministry of Supply.[1]

With Morrison's support, she was elected as a Labour member of London County Council in 1946, representing Paddington North electoral division.[1][2] She stood, unsuccessfully, for parliament, first at North Somerset in 1950 and then at Colchester in 1951.[1] She also sat as a magistrate, and became interested in prison reform.[1] She joined the breakaway Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1982, shortly after their formation.[1]

She used a bequest from her father to establish a charitable trust, the Field Foundation, under whose auspices she gave financial support to The Salvation Army, persuading them to set up the first bail hostel in Britain, in 1971.[1] She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1958, and appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 12 June 1967.[3] She also won the Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Memorial Medal, in 1972.[1]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

She married Dr. James Field, a much older man, in 1936; he died only five years later.[1]

Death[edit | edit source]

She died at Goldsborough Nursing Home, Ladbroke Road, Kensington, London on 24 January 1998, from a stroke.[1] She was 103.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

  • Window Box Gardening.
  • Growing Bulbs in the House. 1954.
  • The Housewife Book of House Plants. The Garden City Press Limited. 1956.
  • Under Lock and Key: a Study of Women in Prison. 1963.
  • Indoor Plants. Paul Hamlyn Limited. 1966.
  • Colorful World of Roses. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited. 1969.
  • Book of Garden Flowers. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited. 1971.
  • Gardening From Scratch. The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited. 1973.
  • Gardening Week by Week. Crescent Books. 1975.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Buczacki, Stefan (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Field, Xenia Noelle". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/69295. Retrieved 29 July 2014. Template:ODNBsub
  2. W Eric Jackson (1965). Achievement: A short History of the London County Council. Longmans. p. 262.
  3. "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Xenia Field". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 27 July 2014.