Edna Annie Crichton

Edna Annie Crichton (1 May 1876 – 5 March 1970) was lord mayor of York from 1941 to 1942, the first woman to hold that position.

Biography Crichton was born in Gloucester on 1 May 1876. Her father, Joseph Marshall Sturge JP was a merchant, her mother was Anne (Annie) Burke, and her sister was Mary Sturge Gretton, historian. Crichton attended Sidcot School and worked on the Passmore Edwards settlement in Bloomsbury, London. In the early 1910s, she took on a role in York, serving on the national health insurance committee and on the board of guardians for the city.

In 1919, Crichton was elected to City of York Council, a position she would go on to hold for 23 years. Crichton was Lord Mayor of York from 1941 to 1942, the first woman to hold that position. As lord mayor, she led the city through the Baedeker raids.

She married David Sprunt Crichton on 22 August 1901 and they had two children, Vida and David. After retirement in 1955, she continued to live in York until her death at Clifton on 5 March 1970.