Mary Trevelyan

Mary Trevelyan (22 January 1897 – 10 January 1983) was warden of the Student Movement House then founder and governor of International Students House, London, and founder of the Goats Club for foreign students. Through most of her working life, Mary Trevelyan worked to solve the problems of overseas students in London, to help them establish the best possible memory of Britain and the British people, and to promote international friendship amongst these students which could be continued even after they left Britain. Trevelyan was appointed as both an OBE and later promoted to CBE. She died in Newbury, on 10 January 1983 after a long illness. Early life and career Mary Trevelyan was born on 22 January 1897, the eldest of four daughters and two sons born to the Reverend George Philip Trevelyan (1858–1937)- a descendant of Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet, of an ancient Cornish family- and Monica Evelyn Juliet, daughter of Rev. Sidney Phillips, of Worcester. Her brothers were the film censor John Trevelyan and the colonial administrator and writer Humphrey Trevelyan, Baron Trevelyan. She was educated at Grovely College Boscombe and the Royal College of Music, London. She was founder and Governor of the International Students' House, London, Warden Student Movement House, first Advisor to Overseas Students London U 1949–65 in 1932. In the New Year Honours 1956 Trevelyan was appointed an Officer of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and on 31 May 1968 was promoted to Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Trevelyan was appointed organist and choir trainer at St Barnabas, Oxford. She later joined the music staff at Radley and Marlborough Colleges. Student Movement House (SMH) She returned to Britain in 1932, after a private tour of India and Ceylon and began to look for a job. She had intended to return to a musical profession but began to wonder if she could help groups of Indian students she noticed on the streets 'looking lost in the wintry rain'. From 1932 to 1946, Mary Trevelyan was the warden of Student Movement House, first on Russell Square then nearby at Gower Street, and it was there that she conceived and developed the interest in students from overseas to which virtually the rest of her life was to be devoted. In 1936 and 1937 she travelled extensively to investigate the problems encountered by students from Far Eastern countries returning home from Europe and America.