Gillian Wagner

Dame Gillian Mary Millicent Wagner (née Graham; born 25 October 1927) is a British writer, philanthropist and social administrator, and formerly chair of the children’s charity Barnardo’s,[1] the Thomas Coram Foundation and the Carnegie Trust. She has published biographical and historical works, as well as reports on social care.[2][3]

Dame Gillian Wagner
BornGillian Mary Millicent Graham
25 October 1927
London, UK
OccupationWriter and philanthropist
NationalityBritish

Early life and education

Gillian Mary Millicent Graham was born in London in 1927,[4] the daughter of Major Henry Archibald Roger Graham and Hon. Margaret Beatrice Lopes. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and the University of Geneva, and later did a diploma in social administration at the London School of Economics, and subsequently a Ph.D., Dr Barnardo and the Charity Organisation Society: A reassessment of the Arbitration Case of 1877.[5]

Career

Wagner began her career as a secretary. Following local fundraising for the children's charity Barnardo's she was invited to join its main council in 1969 and subsequently became the first woman to chair its finance committee, and then to chair the whole organisation. She was also the first woman to chair the Thomas Coram Foundation charity.

In 1973, she was granted the Freedom of the City of London.

In 1994, with support from the National Institute of Social Work, she founded the Residential Forum,[6] which aims "to promote group and supported living as a ‘positive choice’ for some people at some points in their life.... [7]

In 1994, she was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to social administration.

Personal life

In 1953, Gillian Graham married Anthony Wagner, later the Garter King of Arms. She has a daughter, publisher Lucy McCarraher, and two sons, painter Roger Wagner and entrepreneur Mark Wagner. She lives in London and Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Works and themes

Her 1979 biography of Dr Barnardo was the ‘first frank account of [his] character and career,[8] and Thomas Coram, Gent. has been described as ‘a much-needed biography of this early pioneer of children’s charity.’[9] The exception to this is her most recent book, Miss Palmer’s Diary, a biography of her ancestor Ellen Palmer.

Publications
  • The Camera and Dr Barnardo (with Valeria Lloyd) 1974, National Portrait Gallery Publications, ISBN 0904017125
  • Barnardo, 1979, Littlehampton Book Services, ISBN 0297775618
  • Children of the Empire, 1982, Littlehampton Book Services, ISBN 0297780476
  • The Chocolate Conscience, 1987, Chatto & Windus, ISBN 070112475X
  • Thomas Coram, Gent.: 1668–1751, 2015, Boydell Press, ISBN 9781783270606
  • Miss Palmer’s Diary, 2017, I.B. Tauris, ISBN 1788310063

Reports
  • A Positive Choice (Independent Review of Residential Care): A Guide to the Wagner Report 1988, National Institute for Social Work, ASIN B001NTUWO6
  • Residential Care, Vol. 2: The Research Reviewed (with the National Institute for Social Care) 1988, Stationery Office Books, ISBN 0117010634
  • Training for Social Care: Achieving Standards for the Undervalued Service, 1998, Policy Studies Institute, ISBN 1900909022

References
  1. "Interview". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  2. "Residential care: a positive choice; report of the Independent Review of Residential Care - Social Care Online". www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  3. Glickman, Gabriel (1 February 2006). "Thomas Coram, Gent, 1668–1751". The English Historical Review. CXXI (490): 314–315. doi:10.1093/ehr/cej080. ISSN 0013-8266.
  4. "Who's Who 2018". Who's Who. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  5. "Dr. Barnardo and the Charity Organization Society". History Online. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. Citarella, Vic. "Home page". Residential Forum. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. Citarella, Vic. "Residential Forum".
  8. "Review". doi:10.2307/202997. JSTOR 202997. PMC 1082644. S2CID 31874073. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "Review" (PDF). The OAKTrust Digital Repository. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
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