Kathleen Mary Carver Baxter (née fforde, 16 September 1904 – 3 January 1994), was a British dramatist, journalist and teacher.

Early life

She was born in Bulandshahr, British India, on 16 September 1904, the eldest daughter of Arthur Brownlow fforde, a judge in the Indian Civil Service, and his wife, Mary Alice fforde, née Branson.[1] Her elder brother was Arthur Frederic Brownlow fforde.[1] She was educated at seven different schools plus St Albans High School, followed by Newnham College, Cambridge, where she earned a degree in modern and medieval languages in 1927, followed by two years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[1]

Career

From 1944 to 1966, Baxter was the Secretary of the Cambridge University Women's Appointments Board.[2]

In 1963 Baxter was elected a fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge, and from 1963 to 1966, she was Tutor and Director of Studies in Theology there.[1][2]

Baxter wrote three successful religious dramas: Pull Devil, Pull Baker in 1947, a verse mime with music, Gerald of Wales, and Play your Trumpets Angels, for the Southwark Cathedral Festival of Britain pageant, both in 1951.[1][2]

She published books including Speak what we Feel: a Christian Looks at the Contemporary Theatre in 1964, And I look for the resurrection in 1968, and The Silver Dove, with C. Le Fleming, in 1970.[1][2]

In 1971, she became the first woman to conduct the Good Friday service in Westminster Abbey.[2]

Personal life

On 5 November 1931, she married fellow actor and stage director, Major (Frank) Godfrey Baxter RE MC.[1] He died in 1943, when his plane crashed on the runway during take-off.[1]

Later life

She died at Soham, Cambridgeshire on 3 January 1994.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wilson, Derek (2004). "Baxter [née fforde], Kathleen Mary Carver [Kay]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). OUP. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72210. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hetzel, Phyllis (15 February 1994). "Obituary: Kay Baxter". The Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
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