Editing Margaret Thatcher (section)

=== Family and childhood (1925–1943) ===
Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on 13&nbsp;October 1925 in [[Grantham]], Lincolnshire. Her parents were [[Alfred Roberts]] (1892–1970), from Northamptonshire, and Beatrice Ethel Stephenson (1888–1960), from Lincolnshire.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=1}} Her father's maternal grandmother, Catherine Sullivan, was born in [[County Kerry]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Majella |date=10 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's Irish roots lie in Co Kerry |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/margaret-thatchers-irish-roots-lie-in-co-kerry-29185669.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803171312/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/margaret-thatchers-irish-roots-lie-in-co-kerry-29185669.html |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=18 July 2020 |work=Belfast Telegraph}}</ref>

Roberts spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned a [[tobacconist]]'s and a grocery shop. In 1938, [[Events preceding World War II in Europe|before the Second World War]], the Roberts family briefly gave sanctuary to a teenage Jewish girl who had [[Jewish refugees from German-occupied Europe in the United Kingdom|escaped Nazi Germany]]. With her {{wikt-lang|en|penfriend|pen-friending|i=-}} elder sister Muriel, Margaret saved pocket money to help pay for the teenager's journey.{{sfnp|Campbell|2011a|pp=38–39}}

Alfred was an [[alderman]] and a [[Methodist local preacher]].{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=8}} He brought up his daughter as a strict [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]],<ref name="Johnson">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Maureen |date=28 May 1988 |title=Bible-Quoting Thatcher Stirs Furious Debate |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> attending the [[Finkin Street Methodist Church]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Filby |first=Eliza |date=31 October 2015 |title=God and Mrs. Thatcher: The Battle for Britain's Soul |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/margaret-thatcher-christian-methodism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212034043/https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/margaret-thatcher-christian-methodism/ |archive-date=12 December 2019 |access-date=21 April 2018 |work=[[National Review]]}}</ref> but Margaret was more sceptical; the future scientist told a friend that she could not believe in [[angel]]s, having calculated that they needed a [[breastbone]] {{convert|6|feet}} long to support wings.{{r|Oxford1}} Alfred came from a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] family but stood (as was then customary in local government) as an [[Independent politician|Independent]]. He served as Mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946 and lost his position as alderman in 1952 after the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won its first majority on Grantham Council in 1950.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=8}}

[[File:Margaret Thatcher aos 13 anos de idade.jpg|alt=Margaret Roberts, 13, in a black-and-white portrait photograph|thumb|upright|left|1938–39 portrait, aged 13]]

Roberts attended [[Huntingtower Road Primary School]] and won a scholarship to [[Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School]], a grammar school.{{sfnp|Beckett|2006|p=5}} Her school reports showed hard work and continual improvement; her extracurricular activities included the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, swimming and walking.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=6|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2pp=21–22}} She was [[head girl]] in 1942–43,<ref>{{Cite web |title=School aims |url=http://www.kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk/kg/about_school/school_aims |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128200852/http://kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk/kg/about_school/school_aims |archive-date=28 January 2013 |access-date=9 April 2013 |publisher=Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School}}</ref> and outside school, while the Second World War was ongoing, she voluntarily worked as a [[fire watcher]] in the local [[ARP service]].{{sfnp|Moore|2019|page=929}} Other students thought of Roberts as the "star scientist", although mistaken advice regarding cleaning ink from [[parquetry]] almost caused [[chlorine gas poisoning]]. In her [[sixth form|upper sixth year]], Roberts was accepted for a scholarship to study chemistry at [[Somerville College, Oxford]], a women's college, starting in 1944. After another candidate withdrew, Roberts entered Oxford in October 1943.{{sfnmp|1a1=Beckett|1y=2006|1p=12|2a1=Blundell|2y=2008|2p=23}}{{r|Oxford1}}