Madge Saunders (1913-2009) is one of my heroes. So it was an emotional moment to see the exhibit about her that I had lent to the Great Exhibition of the North at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle this evening.
Madge was a pioneer: minister, missionary, intercultural advisor, anti-racism activist. She came from Jamaica in 1965 to serve those she called her Sheffield people. She was based at St James Presbyterian Church in Burngreave where she is still affectionately remembered. It was good to see her placed alongside other great women of the North. She shares a space in the exhibition with
Emily Davison, suffragette;
Jessie Reid Crosbie, writer, teacher, educational reformer;
Barbara Castle, MP;
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst, suffragette;
Barbara Hepworth, artist.
Many others can be discovered in otherparts of the exhibition.
I look forward to bringing students from Silcoates school here later in the summer, to discover the rich tapestry of life, ideas and culture of the North and to dream dreams for their own future. It’s an amazing multi-layered exhibition and it’s wonderful to know that Madge is celebrated here as she so greatly deserves. She has indeed come home to the North.

Janet Lees, 21.06.2018
I was minister at St James Sheffield 20 years ago, and met Madge Saunders in Jamaica in 2002.