Skip to main content

mike-bahrami
16th March 2018

UoM alumna gets certificate 80 years after graduation

Centenarian receives her University of Manchester graduation certificate on her birthday
Categories:
TLDR
UoM alumna gets certificate 80 years after graduation
Image: University of Manchester

Catherine Palmer (née Bolton) has finally obtained her University of Manchester graduate certificate, 80 years after graduating.

The document was officially presented to her during her 101st birthday. Her daughter Alison arranged the surprise for her.

Catherine, from Southport, was born in 1917 and entered the Victoria University in Manchester in 1935. As a student, she resided at the Ashburne Hall in Fallowfield and was quite active in University organizations. She sang in the choir and was part of the fencing and athletics clubs.

Upon graduation in 1938, she received a first class degree in English, and attended the graduation ceremonies but never received her certificate. The impending war also meant she also had to immediately move to Glasgow for wartime placements.

After the war, she taught English at the NW Polytechnic in London (now the University of London) and in grammar schools. She had numerous international students among them a future president of the University of Bristol’s student union and a government minister of St. Lucia in the Caribbean.

She had a long and fulfilling teaching career and has three children, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A true outdoorswoman, she embarked on a trekking and whitewater rafting adventure in the Himalayas when she was 75. Today, she walks her dog everyday and lives a very independent life.


More Coverage

University confirm potential graduation delays

An email update from The Faculty of Humanities confirms potential delays to graduation and their efforts to minimise the impact on students

Local elections 2023: Fallowfield still has lowest turnout in Manchester

Fallowfield still has the lowest voter turnout in Manchester whilst the Greens and Lib Dems made gains – here’s a full breakdown of Manchester’s Local elections 2023.

The University of Manchester’s Rent Strike marches on

The University of Manchester rent strike rumbles on as tensions between UoM Rent Strike and university bosses continue to simmer

Pole and Burlesque Soc rehearsal labelled ‘degrading’ by senior staff member

During a rescheduled rehearsal outside the AGLC, two members of the Pole and Burlesque Society were attacked for their outfits and activity by a member of staff.