A place to deposit the research outputs from my History PhD studies
I am a Postgraduate Researcher at Keele University studying the applications of re-naturalisation of ‘British’ women, 1915-1923 in collaboration with The National Archives.
At the heart of my PhD is a database containing information from the readmission files of those British-born women who applied during in the years 1915-1923. By creating this database, I have been able to use various digital methods to analyse the data as part of my research, and some of the results of this analysis will be available on this site.
The passing of the1870 Naturalisation Act meant that, for the first time, any British-born woman who married a man of foreign origin would lose her British nationality and, in the majority of cases, gain that of her husband. The 1870 Act was replaced in 1914 by the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act. This new Act meant that, beginning January 1915, British-born women who had been denaturalised upon marriage could apply to the Home Office for readmission to British nationality, but only if they had either been widowed or obtained a divorce – a difficult feat for a woman in the early twentieth century.
Researching this set of records will reveal who these women were, how they felt about being considered of a foreign nationality, and the attitude of the Home Office towards British-born widows of foreigners.