In 1955, Dorothy Goodman, a postgraduate student in London, embarked on the task of installing central heating in her new home with her husband, Ray. Being American, she sought to find a British equivalent to the renowned US non-profit organization, Consumer Reports. Discovering that there was none, she took it upon herself to rectify the situation.
Dorry, who passed away at the age of 97, rallied a group of friends to begin examining products and developing an evaluation process. These initial efforts were far from the expert testing that is now conducted by Which?. Dorry’s daughter, Harriet, recalls her mother’s stories of measuring out washing powder in their back garden, only to have it blown away by sudden gusts of wind. “It was a fun and amateur effort in the true sense of the word – we wholeheartedly enjoyed what we were doing.”
Together, this group of friends produced the first prototype issue of a magazine covering various subjects, from prams to scouring powders. Which? was in its early stages and funds were limited. However, Dorry managed to convince the Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, to provide a grant of $2,000 (equivalent to around $40,000 today) to the emerging Institute of Consumer Research, enabling them to hire their first director.
Unfortunately, in 1956, Ray accepted a job with the World Bank in Washington, and the couple relocated to the United States. While Dorry played a significant role in the establishment of Which?, it was the social innovator Michael Young, later known as Lord Young of Dartington, who led the remaining group of friends to set up shop in an abandoned garage in east London and commence work on the first official issue.
Under the editorial guidance of Eirlys Roberts, the first issue was published in October 1957. To their astonishment, 10,000 envelopes containing 10-shilling (50p) subscriptions flooded in by mail, allowing the Consumers’ Association to sustain their work, which continues to this day.
In the US, Dorry’s life took a different path. She assumed teaching positions at Howard and American Universities in Washington, D.C. With a growing interest in education, she became convinced that public schools in the US were failing to adequately teach essential language skills and prepare children for the broader world. She firmly believed that her generation had a duty to secure a better future for the next generation.
In 1966, recognizing the concentration of World Bank families in her neighborhood and understanding their frustrations, Dorry founded the Washington International School. This unique institution aimed to educate children in two languages and serve as a “pilot school for the planet.” The local community warmly welcomed the project, and Dorry firmly believed that education should transcend borders. She strived to create a truly global school.
Dorry played a crucial role in nurturing the school’s development and securing its acceptance into the International Baccalaureate program. She advocated for funding and helped secure suitable premises as the student body grew. Today, the Washington International School educates over 900 students from around the world. Dorry remained the school’s head until 1983.
Born in Minneapolis, Dorry was the daughter of Elizabeth and Henry Bruchholz, a banker. After attending Miss Harris’s Florida School for Girls in Miami, she enrolled at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Following her graduation in 1946, she worked with refugee organizations in New York and Austria. She received a Fulbright scholarship, which took her to London in 1949. In 1955, she obtained a PhD from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London.
Dorry married Raymond Goodman, a Londoner, in 1953. The process of furnishing their new home sparked her interest in consumer issues. In a letter to her family in the US in 1954, she wrote, “I am exhausted from trying to obtain even the simplest information about paints, etc.”
Throughout her life in Washington, she maintained close ties with her friends from the early days of Which?, and as an honorary vice-president of the organization, she continued to receive copies of the magazine for many years.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dorry while working at Which? in 1970 and later served as its vice-chair. She was deeply committed to ensuring that the organization she founded maintained its independence from government, producers, and special interest groups. I vividly recall her passionate critiques of the perceived shortcomings of the American public education system.
In 2017, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first issue of Which?, Dorry was presented with a Founder’s Award and honorary membership in the British Society of Magazine Editors, in recognition of her immense contribution to the establishment of the Consumers’ Association.
Ray passed away in 2016. Dorry is survived by her children, Jeremy, Harriet, Matthew, and Sophia, as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Dorothy Goodman, a tireless advocate for consumers and a visionary in the field of education, was born on January 15, 1926 and passed away on July 23, 2023.
[Image: Dorothy and Ray Goodman were married in 1953]
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