Olive Gibbs, local politician and peace campaigner with Liz Woolley

About Olive Gibbs, local politician and peace campaigner with Liz Woolley

The talk

Olive Gibbs was born in the ‘tough but full-blooded’ parish of St Thomas’s in West Oxford in 1918. She went on to become a redoubtable local Labour politician, peace campaigner, and founding member of CND.

During her long political career, she helped to stop the building of an inner relief road through Christ Church Meadow, prevented the mass clearance of housing in Jericho and was instrumental in the demolition of the infamous Cutteslowe Walls.

She protested against the Spanish Civil War with Denis Healey and later led anti-nuclear marches with Marc Bolan, Joan Baez and Donovan. In this talk, we will learn more about Olive’s extraordinary life and legacy.

The talk will be live-streamed on CrowdCast. After you have registered you will receive an invitation to the event 48 hours before the talk begins.
All profits from this talk will go towards the important work the Museum of Oxford carries out with local older residents as part of the ‘Library of you’ campaign.

The speaker

Liz has lived in Oxford since 1984. She completed an MSc in English Local History (with Distinction) at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education in 2009, having gained a Diploma (also with Distinction) in the same subject in 2007. She is an experienced speaker, guide, tutor, researcher and writer who is keen to help individuals and groups to enjoy finding out about the history of their local area.

Library of you

This talk is the first in a series promoting the ‘Library of you’ fundraising campaign in the run up to the new Museum of Oxford opening.
Every year the Museum of Oxford works with older people in the city at events, at care homes and in hospitals to discuss and share their stories of the city.

The process of reminiscence has been proven to help connect people, reduce loneliness and symptoms of depression, promote physical health, reduce stress and enhance self-esteem.

Their stories are in danger of being lost forever making this work key to the preservation of Oxford’s history. Give today to help continue this work with Oxford’s older people.

Your story

Every person has their own story. By donating to the ‘Library of you’ you can create your own story title to go on one of the book spines and ensure that we can continue to work with Oxford residents and share their stories.

More information about the ‘Library of you’ coming soon.