The British Women’s Temperance Association (‘BWTA’) was formed in 1876 and became one of the UK’s leading women’s organisations advocating abstinence from alcohol and greater legal restrictions over its sale. Its members pledged: ‘I promise by God’s help to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, and to try to induce others to do the same’.
From 1903 to 1921, the national president was Lady Rosalind Howard (1845-1921), Countess of Carlisle, who was also president of the Women’s Liberal Federation. Her activism for temperance and the Liberal Party led to her being known as ‘the Radical Countess’.
Her predecessor in the BWTA was Lady Henry Somerset (1851-1921), whose broad agenda for social reform, particularly women’s suffrage, was opposed by those who wanted to focus on temperance. From this the offshoot the Women’s Total Abstinence Union (‘WTAU’) was formed in 1893. The BWTA then adopted the word ‘National’ in front of its name, although this was often not used.
The Langholm branch of the BWTA was formed in 1906 and held well-attended social events with guest speakers. The president in 1916 was Mrs Winifred Biddulph, daughter of Rev David Maxwell of Broomholm, whose married surname was by coincidence the same as that of the former president of the WTAU, Baroness Elizabeth Biddulph. The Langholm secretary was Miss Bessie Cairns, daughter of magistrate John Cairns, woollen manufacturer.
The BWTA later became the White Ribbon Association, a reference to temperance campaigners’ use of white ribbons as their emblem, and has broadened its remit to gambling, drugs and other sources of dependency.