Talk:Ethel Sands

Incorrect claim re damehood
The following claim regarding Ethel Sands is, as far as I can tell, inaccurate:

"She was made Dame Ethel Sands in 1920. "

NOTE: One link (nationalarchives.gov.uk) cites a "Dame Ethel Sands" but it is not confirmed anywhere. It would have to have been gazetted to be valid. I consulted the London Gazette and there is no record of any honours bestowed on Sands, much less a damehood, although she probably deserved one. I don't have access to Wendy Baron's book but any such claim there would be a mistake.

There was another woman named Ethel -- Ethel Pearson -- who was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1920, the same year Sands reportedly received one. In 1922, another lesbian named Ethel (composer Ethel Smyth) received a damehood. Possibly, one of these other damehoods is the genesis of the misunderstanding. Nirva20 (talk) 00:50, 11 February 2024 (UTC)