Thora Silverthorne

Thora Silverthorne
Born25 November 1910 (1910-11-25)
Died17 January 1999(1999-01-17) (aged 88)
London, England
Occupation(s)Life long activist for Communist Party of Great Britain.
Nanny for Somerville Hastings.
Nurse in Spanish Civil War.
Unionist working for nurses rights
Political partyCommunist Party of Great Britain
Spouses
  • Kenneth Sinclair-Loutit,
  • Cameron Nares Craig
Children1 son, 2 daughters
FamilyGeorge Silverthorne (father),
Sarah Boyt (mother),
6 or 7 siblings (number disputed)

Thora Silverthorne (25 November 1910 – 17 January 1999), also known as "Red Silverthorne",[1] was a British Communist, nurse and healthcare activist. She worked as a nanny for MP Somerville Hastings in her youth.[2] She is most known for her service to the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, and for her roles in helping to found both Britain's National Health Service (NHS), and co-founding Britain's first union for rank and file nurses.[3]

Silverthorne was a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).

  1. ^ Farman, Chris (2015). No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39. London: Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee. p. 94.
  2. ^ "A pledge to remember Oxford's Spanish Civil War volunteers". Oxford Mail. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. ^ Farman, Chris; Rose, Valery; Woolley, Liz (2015). No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39. London: Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee. p. 95.