Lady Campbell, (Alice Estephene) wife of Sir Clifford Campbell, the first Jamaican to serve as Governor-General of Jamaica, was a teacher and social worker for much of her working life.
She was trained at the Bethlehem Training College, in St. Elizabeth, and taught for 33 years until she retired in 1951. Lady Campbell had a special love for children, and as a teacher, made an important contribution to Early Childhood Education in the Infant Departments of the schools in rural Jamaica where she worked.
After graduation from College in 1918, she returned to the school in her hometown district of Mount Hannah in Hanover. She moved on to the Sheffield School in Hanover nine months later, and later to Friendship in Westmoreland, after her marriage to Clifford Clarence Clifford, who was himself a teacher before he entered representational politics.
In 1928 she began teaching at the Grange Hill Elementary School in the parish. Her husband, who was the Principal, had pioneered the construction of the school.
As the wife of a politician, Lady Campbell supported her husband’s work on behalf of his constituents. On many occasions, she wrote letters for those who had difficulty doing so, and at other times, in her husband’s absence, she advised those who had travelled for miles to consult him on various matters.
Lady Campbell was a behind-the-scenes person who appreciated music, was an accomplished pianist and who enjoyed gardening.
She was the daughter of William Jolly, a planter, and Francis Jolly (nee Davis).
She married Sir Clifford in 1920 and the union produced four children – Winston, Newton, Myrtle and Clair.
Source:
- The Gleaner
- Jamaica Information Service