13. The Woman Behind the Welfare State

Journey Through Time

Goalhanger

History

4.3 • 595 Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Eleanor Rathbone was instrumental to the implementation of child benefit and the welfare state, why have we forgotten her? Who were the two million “superfluous women” recorded in the 1921 census? How did Eleanor campaign for over three decades for caregiving to be recognised as “real work”? Joining David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore the fascinating story of the campaigner and politician Eleanor Rathbone. Start uncovering stories in your family like this one today, in collections from censuses, military rolls and parish registers at: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/journey-through-time Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com X: @ThroughTimePod Blue Sky: @ThroughTimePod Instagram: @ThroughTimePod Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Journey Through Time is brought to you by Family History website Find My Past.
0:06.4	Today's episode draws on one of the most revealing records in British history, the 1921 census,
0:13.0	accessed through Find My Past's archive, the perfect starting point to explore your family tree.
0:19.7	Find My Past doesn't just record names.
0:21.8	It captures people's lives.
0:23.4	It captures their homes, their work, the fabric of their daily life in the ways that we've
0:27.3	been talking about.
0:28.2	You can see entire households frozen in time, a name, an occupation, even how many rooms
0:34.4	there were in their house.
0:36.5	And David, you and I've both used Find My Past for years in
0:39.2	our own work. It's where family history is understood. It's where we find the records that
0:44.2	reveal the decisions, the struggles, the lives that we're looking into. Yeah, if you've ever
0:48.4	wondered what shaped those who came before you, how they lived, what they did, what they went
0:52.9	through, who they stood beside.
0:55.0	You can start uncovering those stories today in collections from censuses, military roles,
1:00.7	and parish registers.
1:02.1	It's just waiting to be discovered.
1:04.1	Visit findmypass.co.uk slash journey through time to take a free trial and get 30% off their most popular subscriptions
1:13.0	and start understanding your family history.
1:16.1	Free trial auto renews after seven days unless canceled.
1:19.6	Terms and conditions apply.
1:25.8	The census shows a preponderance of nearly two million women over men in Great Britain.
	...

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