Portrait of Daisy Parsons the first female Mayor of West Ham. Daisy was born in 1890. She left school at 12 years old and begun work as a maid. She became interested in Politics at an early age.  

She became a member of the National Union of Woman Suffrage, better known as the 'Suffragettes, before the Great War (WW1).' Their aim was to get the rights for women to vote. In WW1 she set up a Mother & Child Welfare centre in West Ham because of all the hardship the women were suffering with the their Men folk either at War or had been Killed.  

She became the first Woman Mayor of West Ham in 1936. During her reign as Mayor she opened the Becton Lido and drove the first Trolley Bus in Service in West Ham. She became an Alderman of West Ham,  a Justice of the Peace and was awarded an M.B.E in 1951 becasue of her public service 

Daisy died in 1957 but is still remembered in the area with a large Communal Art in her memory at Hermit Road Park. Sadly the Painting has not been signed, so the Artist can not be congratulated for their work, but it was carried out on behalf of New Deal for Communitites.

Part of Newham Heritage & Archives collection