Annie Higdon

Annie Catherine "Kitty" Higdon (née Schollick; 30 December 1864 – 24 April 1946) was a British schoolmistress. She and her husband, Tom, were at the centre of the 25-year long Burston School Strike. Their battle with authority is celebrated annually by a rally that attracts nationally known politicians and trade unionists.

Life Higdon was born in Poulton-cum-Seacombe, which is now part of Wallasey, in Cheshire. She was born to Samuel and Jane Schollick in 1864. Her father was a shipwright, but she became a qualified elementary teacher. She married Tom Higdon in 1896 and they initially lived in London.

Annie (Kitty) was appointed headmistress in the Norfolk village of Wood Dalling, with Tom as assistant teacher.

Arriving at Burston, the Higdons were again popular with all but the authorities. The Reverend Charles Tucker Eland chaired the school's managing body. Eland demanded deference and recognition of his right to lead the community. Their employers, themselves mostly tenants of brewery-owned land, allied with the rector.

In 1913, Tom Higdon stood for election to the parish council, topping the poll

The Higdons were dismissed in 1914, but the pupils organised a strike. One of the pupils, Violet Potter, led the students out on strike. who opened the new building.

The school remained open with eleven pupils until Tom's death in 1939. Annie Higdon died in a retirement home at Swainsthorpe on 24 April 1946. She is buried alongside her husband in Burston churchyard, adjacent to the school building.

Legacy

The Higdons' life and strike has featured in films and books. There is an annual rally each September which has attracted leading Labour politicians, including Neil Kinnock, Glenys Kinnock and Jeremy Corbyn.