John Barnes, Historian

Ida Copeland (? –1964)

Ida Copeland represented the Stoke division of Stoke-on-Trent from 1931 until her defeat in November 1935.

Ida Fenzi was born in Florence. The date of her birth is uncertain. If we are to trust the age recorded when she died, she was probably born in 1875. However her marriage certificate would suggest either 1880 or 1881. Her father, Cav. Camillo Fenzi (1852 -August 1883) was a member of the distinguished Florentine banking family and he had married Evelyne Isabella, the daughter of Sir Douglas Strutt Galton, and the cousin of Florence Nightingale.

Ida’s early years were spent in Italy, but, after her father's death, her mother returned to England where she married Leonard Cunliffe in 1898. Ida lived with them at Juniper Hill, Mickleham, near Dorking, in Surrey until her marriage to Richard Ronald John Copeland (1884-1958) on 28 July 1915. Ronald Copeland was the second son of Richard Pirie Copeland and had been the president and chairman of the family business since 1913. He was a Master Potter and the partnership made Spode pottery. The couple lived at Kibblestone Hall, Staffordshire. Their eldest son, Spencer, was born on 18 December 1918 and his younger brother in 1920. Ronald and his brother were to turn the family business into a private limited company W.T.Copeland and Sons in 1932 and the firm remained in the Copeland family until it was sold by Spencer in 1966.

Ronald Copeland was a friend of Baden Powell and took an active interest in scouting, serving as County Commissioner for Staffordshire and creating the Kibblestone scout camp on the 300 acre family estate. It was to be handed over to the scouting movement in the 1950s. Ida, who was interested in all forms of social welfare, took a corresponding interest in the girl guides, serving as division commissioner for the north-west of the county from 1918. She was also on the International Council of Girl Guides, 1920–28.

Her interest in politics dates to her election as chairman of the Stoke division of the Women's Unionist Association in 1920. She was adopted as the Conservative candidate for Stoke at the 1931 general election. Stoke had been won by Lady Cynthia Mosley at the 1929 General Election, but she stood down in 1931, three months pregnant and suffering from nervous exhaustion. Sir Oswald Mosley stood in her stead, clearly hoping that her popularity would gain him the seat. However, as the leader of the New Party, Mosley spent less than a week campaigning in the constituency since he had to conduct a national campaign. Despite some enthusiastic support at public meetings the political tide was with Mrs Copeland and five days campaigning far too little time to reverse it. She may well have benefited from her husband's position as a leading china manufacturer in the Potteries, but it was her ‘moderate and straightforward appeal’ that won her an audience even outside factory gates.¹ The Labour candidate, Ellis Smith, polled 13,264, Mosley 10,534 and Mrs Copeland with 19,918 votes was in by the substantial margin of 6654.In her only term in the Commons, Mrs Copeland made several well-informed and well-argued speeches, and she also put down numerous written questions on a range of topics from price levels in the telephone network to speed limits on roads. Her principal focus inevitably was on the protection of domestic industries, and more particularly the pottery and china trade, from foreign competition. She made her maiden speech in May 1932 on the introduction of import duties, which she approached ‘entirely from the point of view of the pottery industry’.² With the industry under threat from foreign competition, she welcomed the introduction of tariffs. She argued that overseas manufacturers paid starvation wages to their workers, and asked: “Can we allow goods manufactured under those conditions to come into this country and lower the standard of living of our own people? I say ‘no’, and I firmly believe that, if we raise these tariffs, the time will come when our industry will be on its feet again.³ She made a further plea on behalf of the industry in December 1933 after reports that Australian and New Zealand markets were being flooded by cheap Japanese goods, including skilful imitations of British wares: “the competition is so severe that it threatens to sweep the English Potteries right out of those countries”.⁴ She wanted the British government to force dominion governments, in their own interest as much as in Britain's, to take action against “dumping”. The Government’s response was sympathetic, but the matter was essentially one for the Dominions themselves. Another area with which she became concerned was the creation of a Development Council for British Coastal Shipping in December 1932.

There was one notable matter to do with women’s representation in which she became active, working with Eleanor Rathbone and three of her fellow Conservatives MPs. When it became clear that the Secretary of State for India might be contemplating a lower figure for female enfranchisement in the Government of India Bill than even that contained in the White paper – itself a good deal lower than that recommended earlier by the Simon Commission and by the Indian Franchise Committee – the five of them wrote to The Times in protest on 27 July 1933.⁵ She could not prevent the Labour party from regaining the Stoke seat at the November 1935 general election. Although her own vote was only marginally down, the Labour vote had been reassembled, and Ellis Smith was the victor, although by no more than 2125 votes. Mrs Copeland did not stand for parliament again.

She resumed her work on the International Council of Girl Guides in 1940. In 1943 she took on the chairmanship of the Staffordshire Anglo-Polish Society and she was awarded the Polish gold cross of merit in 1952. In 1949 she was made a sister of the order of St John of Jerusalem. She was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a silver medallist of that society in 1934.In 1937 when her stepfather died, Ida inherited the Trelissick estate at Feock, 4 miles south of Truro, in Cornwall. She and her husband created a notable garden there. In March 1956 she gave 376 acres of Trelissick to the National Trust, although the family retained its right to live in the house.

Ida was a remarkable and much loved woman, who gave generously of herself to all forms of social welfare and especially to youth work. She had a keen brain and a strong character. She did not suffer fools gladly, but was nonetheless a generous and kindly woman with an overwhelming desire and determination to help those in need. Possessed of a keen sense of humour, she appreciated the ridiculous side of life and this endeared her to a wide circle of friends. Italy was always dear to her, but was speedily assimilated into English society and became intensely preoccupied with countryside activities, at first in Surrey, but then in Staffordshire and Cornwall. In addition to her enjoyment of travel, she liked to mess around in small boats and was, like her husband, keenly interested in pottery. From 1939 they built up a fine collection, notably of early Spode, at Trelissick. She remained active until about three years before her death.

In later life she lived in Ticehurst, East Sussex, where she died at The Highlands, Vineyard Lane on 29 June 1964. There was no formal obituary, but two friends contributed an appreciation on 11 July 1964 and she has now found a place in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.