A commemorative blue plaque honouring a North East-born scholar, who went on to marry famous one of Britain's most famous authors, has been unveiled.

Eileen O’Shaughnessy, born in South Shields on September 25, 1905, met Eric Blair - better known by his pen name George Orwell - in 1935, and the couple married a year later in Wallington, Hertfordshire.

A writer herself, it is thought Eileen was a strong influence on Orwell's storytelling, particularly in his book Animal Farm, which Eileen helped him plan. 

Sunderland University's SunGen Interdisciplinary Research Network, led by Professor Angela Smith, organised the plaque to celebrate the "remarkable" Eileen.

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Richard Blair, the adopted son of George and Eileen, unveiled the plaque at Langham Tower, which formed part of Eileen’s former school, Sunderland Church High School.

They were joined by Sunderland MP Julie Elliott, the University of Sunderland Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Michael Young, Quentin Kopp, the chair of The Orwell Society, and members of The Orwell Foundation.

The Northern Echo:

In addition to her help with Animal Farm, it is also thought that Eileen’s futuristic poem, End of the Century, 1984, influenced Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was published four years after Eileen’s death.

Her inspiration-invoking poem was penned for her former school's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Thus, Professor Smith, who also attended the unveiling, deemed it "fitting" that Eileen's blue plaque has been installed on one of the buildings of her old school. 

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She said: "The blue plaque marking Eileen O'Shaughnessy's connection with Sunderland will allow us to think more about the people who have done remarkable things and yet have not thus far been celebrated. 

"This is one of the aims of the Rebel Women of Sunderland project with Sunderland Culture, which aims to highlight remarkable women who are connected to Sunderland. Few can be seen to be more remarkable - or indeed more hidden - than Eileen O'Shaughnessy.

"In 1934, Eileen wrote her poem End of the Century, 1984 for Sunderland Church High School’s Golden Jubilee, in which she hinted at a dystopian world with a brighter future some 50 years ahead. It is therefore fitting that we have a blue plaque dedicated to Eileen placed on a building that once formed part of that school."

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