Quick Facts
Biography
Dame Grace Mary Thyrza Kimmins, DBE (née Hannam; 1871 – 3 March 1954) was a writer who created charities that worked with children who had disabilities.
Life
Juliana Horatia Ewing' 1885 novel The Story of a Short Life inspired Kimmins]] to start the Guild of the Poor Brave Things to help children with disabilities in London. Grace (and later Ada Vachell took their motto ‘Laetus sorte mea’ (‘Happy in my lot’) from Ewing's book.
She was described in Punch (volume 156, 9 April 1919) as ... in her quiet practical way is probably as good a friend as London ever had, a description for the driving force behind the Guild of Play and the Guild of the Poor Brave Things.
She became a Wesleyan deaconess and worked in both the Methodist West London Mission and the Bermondsey Settlement, where she moved in 1895. In 1897, she married Charles William Kimmins. She was active in the foundation and continuance of charitable foundations, particularly those concerned with children's play and the welfare of poor and disabled children. She founded, caused to be founded or was involved in the Methodist West London Mission, Bermondsey Settlement, Chailey Heritage, Guild of Play, and Guild of the Poor Brave Things. She also was a writer.
She was made CBE in 1927 and promoted DBE in 1950.
Family
Grace and Charles Kimmins had two sons:
- Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Charles Hannam Kimmins
- Anthony Martin Kimmins (10 November 1901 – 19 May 1964), actor, director and producer
- "Survey of the Papers of Senior UK Defence Personnel, 1900–1975 – KIMMINS, Sir Brian Charles Hannam (1899–1979), Lieutenant General". King's College London Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- Anthony Kimmins profile at IMDb
Death
She died in Haywards Heath Hospital on 3 March 1954, aged 83.