Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2026

March is Women's History Month but it also incorporates the global celebration of International Women's Day on 8 March, which was first celebrated in 1911. Both initiatives promote the achievements and contributions of women in the past and present, and the raise awareness of the ongoing campaign for equality in all areas of life. This year’s campaign theme is 'Give to Gain’, focusing on fostering gender equality through generosity in knowledge, resources, time, and advocacy. This year we’re championing Mollie Panter-Downes (1906-1997) a housewife, mother, journalist and novelist, who was well-known during the Second World War as the London correspondent for the ‘New Yorker’ magazine. She also lived in Surrey, in an old farmhouse called West End Farm, which she renamed Roppeleghs, just south-west of Chiddingfold.

The ‘New Yorker’ column gave the American reader an authentic British civilian view of life for the duration of the Second World War and beyond. The 153 “Letters from London” series, and around 50 short stories published, included descriptions of the many hurdles faced in the capital city of a country at war. Normality was disrupted but the spirit was unbroken. There are descriptions of the physical changes to the street scene with such measures as the blackout, the repainting of pillar boxes with yellow paint that changed colour if the air was poisoned, the heaps of sandbags, barrage balloons, air raids, the impact of the major museums and art galleries moving artefacts and works of art into secure storage outside London, the growth in cinema audiences, as well as the use of tube stations to shelter the population and protect from the dangers of the blitz.

Mollie’s short stories also provided American readers with a taste of what life was like for civilians in the English countryside during wartime. This included the challenges faced by households and communities who opened their doors to evacuees from the cities, the impact on rural schools and local shopkeepers who suddenly had to provide more food or had to ration supplies.

For International Women’s Day you can discover more about this talented and fascinating woman with our new Exploring Surrey’s Past page.

Discover more Women's History

From fighter pilots to musicians, and gardeners to literary icons, you can discover important and inspiring stories of women in Surrey’s history on Explorings Surrey's Past.

If you've researched a story about any of Surrey's amazing women and would like to contribute it to the website, then Surrey History Centre would love to hear from you!

Images:

• International Women's Day logo
• Portrait photograph of Mollie Panter-Downes, by Unknown photographer c.1926 Permission of National Portrait Gallery (NPG) x198570 under license