In recognition of International Women’s Day, it feels fitting to look back this month at MED’s founder – Hilda Coles was a woman ahead of her time. Born in 1907, she grew up in Wimborne, and was educated at the Wimborne High School for Girls in Allendale House during the First World War. She faced the usual societal constraints, but defied the gender norms of her time. At school she strongly disliked needlework, but excelled in sports, especially football and hockey – she continued to play with Wimborne Ladies’ Hockey Team for many years. Sometime during her schooldays – perhaps because of her great love of sport – Hilda earned the nickname Mick, which she remained for the rest of her life.
After finishing school, Hilda joined her father, Tom Coles, in running the family’s ironmonger’s business. Though she didn’t enjoy shop work, she absorbed valuable business skills. In her spare time, she became interested in amateur dramatics and helped the Women’s Institute productions behind the scenes, making props and painting scenery. Decades later, several people remembered a spectacular wind machine she had constructed for special effects.
A Scottish adventure
With the outbreak of the second world war, Hilda enlisted in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens), and was posted to Invergordon in Scotland. Mechanically-minded and independent, she worked in motor transport, driving trucks and cars across the rugged landscapes of northern Scotland, a job she loved. Her service was recognised with commendations and a mention in dispatches.
She was discharged in 1946 and much to her friends surprise she returned to Wimborne and the shop. Just like her father, Hilda was interested in the history of Wimborne and they began to collect objects, starting with the unsold stock from the ironmonger’s and stationer’s shops – the latter being the reason the museum has one of the country’s finest collections of Victorian vinegar Valentines’ cards. Hilda was also a keen photographer, shooting the buildings and characters of Wimborne to keep a record for future generations.
Birth of the museum
Hilda inherited the ironmonger’s business 1953 following the death of her father. But instead of continuing in retail, she made a bold decision – one that would cement her place in Wimborne’s history. Seven years later, she permanently closed the shop to fulfil her father’s long-held ambition of transforming the building, known as the Priest’s House, into a museum.
Working closely with the Wimborne Historical Society, Hilda oversaw the creation of galleries initially in just three rooms on the ground floor, where she carefully curated the exhibits. Hilda’s vision was groundbreaking for the time – she saw the museum as ‘a centre of education and culture, and a place where children are welcome’ – an unusually enlightened view for the early 1960s. The Museum of East Dorset officially opened on 31st July 1962.
A Lasting Legacy
For 25 years, Hilda managed the museum herself with the help of volunteers and support from the local community. Her business acumen, honed in her father’s shop, proved invaluable in keeping the museum financially viable. She was known for her forthright personality, a trait that – while not always endearing – was instrumental in securing lasting support for the museum.
When she passed away in 1987, Hilda left the museum and its beautiful garden to the governors of Wimborne Minster, ensuring its continued existence. She also provided an endowment income to support its future.
Today, the Museum of East Dorset stands as a testament to her dedication and vision, preserving the rich heritage of the area for generations to come.
Her determination, resourcefulness, and passion for her
community continue to inspire, reminding us that history is not just something to be remembered – it is something to be actively preserved and shared.
Photographs supplied by Museum of East Dorset. Copies of photos from the museum’s extensive library are available to buy.
If you have any photos, slides, negatives or film relating to East Dorset that you would like to loan for copying, or to donate to the museum archives, they would be delighted to
receive them.
For either of the above, please email photographs@museumofeastdorset.co.uk
