Málaga Farm, Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson (A Model Citizen)

Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson (Eastbourne, England, 6 May 1908 – Málaga, Spain, 12 April 2003). She was born in Eastbourne, but spent over half her life in Málaga. She was the daughter of a lawyer, George William Grice-Hutchinson. Her primary education was informal, but she learned several languages. In 1924 her father acquired a farm (San Julián) in the province of Málaga and then she spent seasons in Spain. Here, Marjorie was witness to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, and with her father helped fleeing Spaniards to Gibraltar on their boat, bringing back medicine and food for the people of Churriana (Málaga).They collaborated in philanthropic activities such as the maintenance of medical help and a school in Churriana.

In 1941 she worked for the Foreign Office as a professor at the University of London, at King's College, then as director of the Spanish Department at Birkbeck College. During that time she studied at the London School of Economics, obtaining a degree honor. There she was a disciple of R.S.Sayers and of Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992), Nobel Prize of Economy in 1974, who directed her doctoral thesis.

Marjorie set permanently in the 1950s after her marriage to Baron Ulrich von Schlippenbach, an agronomist. She did not have any children and she continued her writing, publishing Malaga Farm (1956), Children of the Vega: Growing up on a Farm in Spain (1963), The English Cemetery (1964), Early Economic Thought in Spain (1978), as well as economic studies on Andalucia and many other subjects.

She forged a friendship with Gerald Brenan and especially with his wife Gamel Woolsey, with whom she had many things in common: literary passion and love of Spain. It is said Marjorie pushed for Gamel's book Malaga Burning to be translated into Spanish.

It is remarkable to mention the social work she carried out in Churriana after the Civil War and in 1984 she donated the family farm "San Julián" to the University of Málaga, where it was located the Grice-Hutchinson Experimentation Center "(Botanical Garden of the University of Málaga). During her last years she took care of the English Cemetery of Málaga, where she would receive burial after her death.

So, Marjorie was awarded by different institutions and universities. In 1975 she received an OBE from her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Marjorie was also awarded the Ateneo de Málaga Medal and was declared  "Adopted Daughter".

Bibliographical sources

Grice-Hutchinson, M. (1956). Malaga Farm. London: Hollis & Carter.
Grice-Hutchinson, M. (2016). Un cortijo en Málaga. A. Arenas y E. Girón (trad.). Málaga: Ediciones del Genal.
[Recuperado 27/04/2017] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Grice-Hutchinson