Who was Elizabeth Casson?

However, by contrast, Elizabeth’s early days were rather unsettled. We see that:

Her father, Thomas Casson, was described by his daughter-in-law’s family (the Mans) as ‘no businessman’. While he initially went to work for the family bank founded by his uncle, he was asked to resign in 1892, when Elizabeth was about 11 years old, because he was spending too much time on his hobby, which later became his career, as an organ builder. Buying into the organ building business where his brother Lewis worked, Thomas fell out with the organ builder and set up his own business, but the venture failed. His wife’s family saw that ‘money was always very short’ and for a period, the Casson girls, including Elizabeth, were withdrawn from school.

While Thomas was ultimately successful in establishing the Positive Organ Company with the help of his brother Randal in 1898, the early lives of Elizabeth and her siblings would not have been privileged or financially stable.

Her brother, Will, was killed in the First World War

Her sister Annie died aged 9, and that

Elizabeth took two years to pass the Latin exam needed to enter medical school.

In our quest to find out more about who Elizabeth was as a person, we recently had the good fortune to meet with three of her great nieces – Carola, Nicky and Penny – and heard directly from them about Elizabeth. Carola told us, “I think you may well be right about early life experiences influencing how she approached things in later life. Equally, living your dreams and being a risk-taker may also be something she took forward too – just in a more managed way” (than her father). So, it seems that these contrasting fortunes may well have helped shape Elizabeth. Research and conversations with those who remember her lead us to find a fascinating, larger-than-life figure, and we have been able to draw a picture of a stalwart woman with the skills and personality to lead the development of our profession. When we examined the evidence, what did we find?

We knew that Dr Elizabeth Casson was born in Denbigh, Wales, on April 14^th 1881, the sixth child of seven, and the third daughter of Thomas Casson, the ultimately successful organ builder. His wife, Laura Ann Thomas-Holland, who had been born in Valparaiso, Chile, was the daughter of a merchant navy sea captain who traded along the west coast of Central and South America. Facts are, of course, important in understanding this Victorian lady, but what was she like as an individual?

However, despite her rather intimidating manner, we learned much of how Elsie was admired within the family. Janet described her as having a matriarchal role within the family whose advice was sought “on just about everything and her judgment valued.” In later years her nephew Owen referred to her “typically direct fashion”.

Determined and hardworking

Nicky also saw Elsie as “incredibly hard working” and this, too, is a clearly featured thread in this remarkable woman’s life. Born into a Victorian world where the role of women was adjunctive to that of men, Elsie, along with other women whose potential menfolk were killed in the First World War, saw the possibility of life beyond hearth and home. Nicky, Carola and Penny all confirmed the family’s social conscience and talked of works it had championed to support those less well off. Elsie, too, had first-hand experience of financial difficulties as a child. Later, when housing manager for Octavia Hill, her work with people in poverty clearly fed into this family trait, for she decided that, like her uncle Isambard, she wanted to be a doctor; specifically, someone who helped those with psychological needs. Talking to a group of Soroptimists in Bristol in 1936, Elsie explained that her five years spent working with Octavia Hill had taught her how to get in touch with and talk to all kinds of people, especially the sick. This experience made her determined to train as a doctor. She told how Octavia Hill had recognised that the only people who could really get to know poorer people were those who visited their houses regularly to collect rent. It was through this Octavia Hill training method that Elsie learned to understand and communicate with people who lived in slum properties and recognised that “the tenants, as well as the tenements, needed repair.”

To gain a place at medical school in Bristol, where her uncle Sir (Herbert) Isambard was Vice Chancellor, Elsie had to pass all elements of her matriculation exam. No real problem for our bright, determined scholar, you’d think? – except that she struggled to pass Latin. It took her two years, and she did it, according to her nephew Owen Reed, by the skin of her teeth. And she was off!!

So, in less than 20 years, our indefatigable founder went from a mature medical student who’d struggled to gain entry to her course to founding a new profession within the clinic she ran. Hard-working? Certainly. Visionary? Without doubt. Risk taker and boundary breaker? Absolutely. What a woman!

These threads of her character have not gone unrecognised. In her obituary in the Occupational Therapy Journal, 1955, she is remembered for:

“… her faith in our healing work that enlivened and enlightened medical opinion regarding occupational therapy, it was her courage and foresight that first established professional training, and it was her determination and perseverance that carried it forward in the face of opposition and indifference.” (Occupational Therapy 1955)

In its work, the Trust carries forward Elsie’s unique achievements. Through its values and strategic intentions, the Trust continues her work in building the knowledge and skills of occupational therapists, mainly, but not exclusively in the UK. If you would like to be the beneficiary of Elizabeth Casson’s determination and vision, look here for how you can access funds arising from the foresight of this canny businesswoman.

For sources and references, please see below