Leila Winifred Bridgman

Leila Winifred Bridgman was born in Auckland 1891. For most of her life she was involved in YWCA work at a national and international level.

Leila was secretary for the work in the Auckland YWCA for four years. In 1922, she went to the United States to attend the National Training School of the Y.W.C.A., which is situated in New York. While in New York, in addition to attending the Training School, Leila took lectures at Columbia University—the University Theological College. From America, she went to attend the world conference on Girls’ Work, held in Australia in 1923. She returned to London and had a term at the London School of Economics and at King’s College, specialising in psychology and sociology. Her last month was spent in Europe visiting Belgium, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Upon her return to New Zealand, Leila was appointed Girls’ Work secretary for both Australia and New Zealand. She held this position from 1926 – 1932. She led the Girl Citizen Movement, a movement joined by thousands of 14 to 20-year-olds. They learned the skills of running conferences and meetings, speaking in public, and organising fundraising, holiday camps, dances, plays and outings.

NZ YWCA Convention at Wakefield, 1926

Soon after, in 1942, Japan invaded Singapore and Leila and her friend Eileen attempted to escape. They spent four weeks on a lifeboat before reaching Java. However, they were taken prisoner by the Japanese on arrival but allowed partial freedom until June 1943 when they were ordered to Tjideng camp in Batavia (Jakarta). While in camp they ran a jam-making business but this was stopped by the second camp commandant who ‘instituted a reign of terror’. Leila remained there until 1945 when she and her fellow inmates were liberated by New Zealand airmen.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum holds an important collection of materials relating to Leila’s story. This includes a diary of her travels in Singapore and East Java, autobiographical notes, manuscripts titled ‘Landed in Java’ (comprising diary extracts and resumes) and collection of diary extracts called ‘The Compound, Batavia, and a typed manuscript of a talk titled ‘A Women’s Internment Camp in Java’. Her 1971 account, ‘From Singapore to Java’, is a story of children Leila cared for in the internment camp.

In 1948, Leila travelled to China as national general secretary of the YWCA of Australia, to attend the World Council of the YWCA. She also visited Japan, where she spoke at a public meeting in Tokyo at the Prime Minister’s residence. An audience of 3,000 Japanese heard the her story interment as a Japanese POW.

She lived in Epsom and passed in 1974 at the age of 83.

Links:

Auckland Museum Collection
Young Women’s Christian Association of Aotearoa New Zealand – NZ History

References:

Wanganui Chronicle, 19 January 1948, Page 7
Gisborne Times, Volume LXI, Issue 9759, 17 July 1924, Page 3
Miss Bridgman, Schmidt, Herman John, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 31-70586
NZ YWCA Convention at Wakefield, 1926, Zenith Portrait Studio, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 589-0255