Women’s League of Health & Beauty

Founded in London in 1930 by Irish emigrée Mary/’Mollie’ Bagot Stack (1883-1935), the Women’s League of Health & Beauty (WLHB) is known today as the more contemporary-sounding ‘FL-exercise’. It captured the rising interest amongst women in keeping fit, especially after the hardships and new roles many took on during WW1. Bagot Stack’s system was the culmination of her scientific studies and private tutorials for elite ladies beginning in 1907 which included dance, comportment and the ‘imagine-you-are-a-falling-leaf’ type of exercise instilling grace and charm.

 

The initial aim was to strengthen women for child-bearing and -rearing, and WLHB spread quickly here and in Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. Bagot Stack’s first child died and she had become widowed by the time she established WLHB, giving her an added impetus and with affordable fees and the claim that her methods would lead to peace and harmony, she was adept at promotion. Her second child, Prunella Stack (1914-2010) took over after her mother died.

One of the WLHB’s mass displays was for the Coronation celebrations in 1953, giving a further boost in membership after another devastating War. Many have attended classes all their adult lives and are FL-exercising in their nineties! Bagot Stack’s great-granddaughter, Saba Douglas-Hamilton (1970-) is Fl-exercise’s current President.

(Top image: pexels.com / Public domain)