Ruth Hubbard (30 October 1896 - 23 August 1955) was a Girl Guide leader and six times Mayoress of Buckingham.
Hubbard in turn nursed McKenzie through ill health, giving her "unfailing attention and care".
[1] During WWII she was a warden’s messenger for the A.R.P.,[16] secretary of Buckingham’s National Savings Movement,[17] a volunteer for the Parcels Scheme and helped the elderly and infirm with hospital transport.
[18] She was a member of Winslow’s British Red Cross Detachment 88, which involved welcoming repatriated POWs to RAF Westcott, which was in operation between 1942 and 1946.
[25] Whilst in South Africa[26] and Shanghai she took a "keen interest" in the work of the local Girl Guides' Associations.
[28] She herself was a recipient of the Silver Fish Award, the Girl Guide movement’s highest adult honour, in 1918.
[1] Amongst the many organisations that Hubbard supported were the St John Ambulance and Nursing Association,[29] the Women’s Institute,[30] Buckingham’s District Nursing Association,[31] Northampton Hospital,[32] Buckingham Hospital (founded by Hubbard’s family)[33] and the Mothers' Union.
[36] Other community roles included: Hubbard was active in improving the welfare of mothers from London’s slums.
During her first term as Mayoress, an ox-roast drew protest from passionate vegetarian George Bernard Shaw, and saw her name mentioned in the satirical magazine Punch.
[48] In 1946 she was appointed a representative on Buckingham District Council under the Education Act[49] and served on the Old People’s Welfare Committee.