ABSTRACT
Ethel Mary Nucella Williams was the first woman in the North of England to drive a car, gaining her driving licence in 1906. This was unusual for the times and what was thought to be even more unusual was the fact that she serviced it herself. The challenges Williams faced in gaining her medical education, coupled with her belief that social reform was integral to improving care, inspired her to become increasingly involved with the suffragist movement. With the start of the First World War Williams’ political activity became decidedly more radical. She left the Liberal Party due to their non-acceptance of women’s suffrage, working closely with the Independent Labour Party. She became a tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association and established many women’s health courses in the North East. Williams played a large role in caring for European refugees between the two World Wars and was integral in implementing residential care to improve the quality of the mentally ill.
