New exhibition celebrating car manufacturer and LGBT history
Egham Museum is proud to present a new exhibition: Leacrofts, Cowell, Egham: A Woman in a Man’s World. It focuses on Roberta Cowell, the first woman in the UK to have undergone male-to-female gender reassignment through surgery, and her life and work in and around Egham.
An official reception was held to celebrate on the evening on Wednesday 11th October, in which members of the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) society from Royal Holloway University of London came down to see the exhibition and get involved. Trustees of the Museum Nicholas Murphy and Roger Nield also attended. The event was also an introduction to the Museum’s latest project, a book club focused on LGBT+ authors and their novels/stories. The book list so far includes authors such as Virginia Woolf, Radcliffe Hall and Sarah Waters, but those interested are welcome to make suggestions for what they would like to read! The club will meet to discuss the book and its impact on society and the LGBT+ community, as well as the author and their lives.
Members of Royal Holloway’s English Literature who attended on the opening night were excited about the prospects of the book club, and mentioned that perhaps it could be part of a collaboration with the society in the future if all goes to plan. Everyone is welcome to get involved – the more enthusiastic, the better!
The exhibition will run until the end of February 2018, coinciding nicely with the official LGBT history month that is celebrated annually in the UK every February. We hope to see many of you there!
Link to the book club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/281252009033408/?ref=pages_groups_card&source_id=119285541452746
Words by Rhiannon Ireland