Brownley, Jessie Margaret

Person

Brownley, Jessie Margaret

Jessie Margaret Brownley attended the Glasgow School of Art between 1917 and 1918. She studied evening classes in Modelling. It is noted in the register that her occupation was Teacher, and also that her home address was 27 Rue Nouvelle, Constantinople (now Istanbul). There was a large population of British Citizens living in Istanbul at the outbreak of the First World War, and when Turkey became allies with the Germans in 1914, many of these citizens were immediately evacuated, for fear of becoming interned in concentration camps. However, after the first wave of evacuations, it seems that many British citizens remained in Istanbul for at least another year; especially those who were working as teachers, missionaries and businessmen. In May 1915, there remained 2,000 – 3,000 British and French Citizens in the city. Nevertheless it was at this time that tensions began to rise further for the Turkish Government, and the remaining citizens were threatened with being transported to a Concentration Camp in the military zone of Gallipoli. It could have been around this time that Jessie left for Glasgow.

The fact that she gave a temporary term time address in Hillhead perhaps suggests that she hoped to return to Turkey after the war. In the register, the letter "LL, A" are also noted after her name.

If you have any further information about Jessie, please get in touch.

Sources: Chapters 12, 19 and 20 in 'Secrets of the Bosphorus: Constantinople 1913-1916' by Henry Morgenthau (1918), Chapter Six in 'British Diplomacy in Turkey, 1583 to the Present: A Study in the Evolution of the Embassy' by Geoffrey R. Berridge (2009), and page 423 of 'The Spectator', 12th March 1910, Volume 104, Issue 4263.

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