After the Representation of the People Act was passed in February 1918 giving the first women the vote (as well as all men), the British bureaucratic machine went into action to implement its provisions, despite the country still fighting a…

This year, 2018, marks the centenary of the first time that women were able to vote in a British General Election. For women over the age of 30, who were householders or married to householders, the long fight to have…

The centenary of the death of Suffolk’s Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) is celebrated this year. She was a remarkable woman – most notably she became the first woman doctor to practice medicine in this country – and was a pioneer…

Lilian was one of four Ridley sisters and, together with two of her older sisters, Ada and Bessie, was a supporter of the campaign for Votes for Women (see Blog Ada Ridley – Suffragette Artist for more information about the…

The story of the fight for Votes for Women reaches an ever-wider audience. To coincide with the opening of the film Suffragette, the Houses of Parliament put on some special events, including a tour and talk on the main suffragette activity within…

When Constance Andrews was released from Ipswich prison in May 1911 after a protest connected to the Votes for Women campaign, she was driven through the streets of Ipswich in an open cab. In this iconic photograph of the event,…

Ada Ridley is mentioned in my book, A Song of their Own, but since completing the book I’ve become aware of other interesting aspects of her life. Ada was born in the 1860s, the second oldest of 4 sisters –…

The suffragettes were of course individual women who each made their own contribution to the campaign for the vote. However, there are admirable features of them as a group. Here are the first 5 of 10 reasons why I love the suffragettes.…