Mrs Ethel Maud (James) Pryor (1879-1938)
Born in Helston, she moved to Plymouth on marrying James Pryor, the son of William Pryor who set up Pryor’s Shorthand Academy in Westwell Street, Plymouth in 1888. Her husband had succeeded his father as Principal, but Mrs Pryor soon became involved in the business, especially as secretarial work became more and more a woman’s occupation. After her husband’s death in 1927, she became the sole Principal of the Academy, continuing to run it with her daughter Miss Kathleen Pryor, and maintaining its previous high standards and reputation. With a majority of women students in the interwar years, the Academy produced results which saw the clerks graduating from the Academy easily finding jobs, not just locally. It was the largest institution teaching shorthand, typing and office skills in the West of England during this period. Her early unexpected death followed an operation. A supporter of the women’s suffrage cause, she had in the post WW1 years increasingly involved herself in community activities and social work. She was part of the circle surrounding Nancy Astor, and an ardent worker for the Primrose League locally. Ethel Pryor was particularly interested in women’s causes and in promoting opportunities for young people generally, taking a particular interest in Gunnerside School for Girls (located at 31-32Torrington Place). She was a Soroptomist, and served as President of the Plymouth branch in 1933. She was actively involved in local youth organisations including the Girl Guides, and was a prominent member of the Plymouth Working Guild. She had a particular interest in promoting reading and the enjoyment of literature and drama, being a member of the Dickens Fellowship and the Plymouth Shakespere Society. She was much loved and appreciated, particularly by those girls she helped to develop their talents and take advantage of their opportunities, including at the Academy and Gunnerside School.