Gillian Wagner
Dame Gillian Wagner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gillian Mary Millicent Graham 25 October 1927 London, England |
| Died | 31 December 2025 (aged 98) |
| Occupation | Writer and philanthropist |
| Nationality | British |
Dame Gillian Mary Millicent Wagner (née Graham; 25 October 1927 – 31 December 2025) was a British writer, philanthropist and social administrator, who was the first woman chair of the children’s charity Barnardo's, the Thomas Coram Foundation and the Carnegie Trust.[1] She published biographical and historical works, as well as reports on social care.[2][3]
Early life and education
Gillian Mary Millicent Graham was born in London on 25 October 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.[5] Her doctoral thesis was titled Dr Barnardo and the Charity Organisation Society: A reassessment of the Arbitration Case of 1877 (OCLC 500584755).[6]
Works and themes
Her 1979 biography of Thomas Barnardo was described in a Medical History review as the "first frank account of [his] character and career";[7] while a reviewer in Seventeenth-Century News called her book Thomas Coram, Gent. "a much-needed biography of this early pioneer of children’s charity".[8] Her book, Miss Palmer's Diary (LCCN 2018-411229) was a biography of her ancestor, Ellen Palmer.[5]
Death
Wagner died on 31 December 2025, at the age of 98.[9]
Publications
- The Camera and Dr Barnardo (with Valerie 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
- ^ Wagner, Gillian. "Dame Gillian Wagner: Chair of Barnardo's & many other charities" (PDF). National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Residential care: a positive choice; report of the Independent Review of Residential Care". Social Care Online. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Who's Who 2018. Who's Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38448. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ a b Philpot, Terry (6 January 2026). "Dame Gillian Wagner obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ "Dr. Barnardo and the Charity Organization Society". History Online. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ "Book Reviews". Medical History. 24 (1): 115. 1980. doi:10.2307/202997. JSTOR 202997. PMC 1082644. S2CID 31874073.
- ^ Hendershot, Gillian (2005). "Gillian Wagner, Thomas Coram, Gent. 1668-1751" (PDF). Seventeenth-Century News. 53 (1–2): 34 – via The OAKTrust Digital Repository.
- ^ "Dame Gillian Wagner, children's historian who also oversaw the transformation of residential care". The Telegraph. 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.