Politics
Charcoal and chalk ‘Portrait of Miss Bidwell as a Suffragette’, c 1911-1913
The first two decades of the twentieth century saw rapid change for women, with their rights, roles and opportunities evolving at an unprecedented rate. Kathleen paid an active part.
The First World War signalled a decisive change for women’s place in society and in 1918, after decades of campaigning, the Representation of the People Act allowed some women to finally gain the right to vote [1]. In the lead up to, and during the First World War, Kathleen put her energies into advancing the rights of women and supporting those families whose men had gone to war.
a) Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) [2]
Kathleen was an active member of the Chelsea branch of the WSPU, which was an all-women suffrage advocacy organisation dedicated to "deeds, not words" with Emmeline Pankhurst as a founding member and her daughters as committed members.
Family records show that in 1913 (aged 34), when living in Ashburnham Mansions in Chelsea, Kathleen received a letter from Emmeline Pankhurst’s office at the WSPU. Kathleen spoke at meetings and put her artistic skill to the “service of the Cause” by executing quick portrait sketches for sale - this occurred at least at the December 1911 WSPU Christmas Fair, and the 1913 WSPU Summer Fair [3]. During this time, she created a charcoal and chalk sketch entitled ‘Portrait of Miss Bidwell as a Suffragette’ (shown above) – recently sold at auction for £261 [4]. Other sketches remain from this period, but it is not possible to match them to the names of the sitters.
Pastel of unknown woman, c 1911
Throughout her lifetime, Kathleen wrote numerous letters to newspapers advocating for women's suffrage, addressing the economic and living hardships faced by women, and emphasizing the need for their voices and leadership (ref. newspaper clippings). On 9 February 1913, she wrote a letter to the editor of Referee on women's suffrage, published under the title "Man, the Criminal" (see below extract).
“...stated that for 1 woman criminal there are 4 men, and that for 1 woman who commits a crime involving penal serviture there are 6 men. How, in the face of these facts, can anyone say that (a) nation is wise which entrusts its destiny to the more criminal half of the population, incidentally too, giving that half complete power over the other half?”
b) Tipperary League [5] – First World War
In 1914, Kathleen was on the Executive Committee of the original Tipperary Room established in Hammersmith, set up with the aim of providing meeting rooms for wives and relatives of sailors and soldiers to combat their isolation and struggles with being the sole breadwinners.
Pastel of unknown woman, 1914
Around 1916, Kathleen became Chair of the Hammersmith Tipperary Room, an initiative founded on the philosophy of women helping women. The organisation provided social interaction, educational classes, entertainment, a safe space for children to play, and support for women struggling during the war. It also offered opportunities to contribute to the war effort (ref. minutes). Kathleen, along with other committee members, travelled across London to promote the establishment of additional Tipperary Rooms, which quickly took root. They also organised fundraising events to sustain and expand their mission.
Watercolour and ink ‘Charlady’, c 1915-20
By 1915, the Tipperary League had become the central organising body, providing guidance to the growing network of Tipperary Rooms across Britain. Its headquarters were in Parliament Chambers. Kathleen served on the League’s Executive Committee from its inception and, by December 1915, at age 36, had risen to Vice-Chair. She also authored a booklet promoting the League’s mission, incorporating its motto: “Sister clasping the hands of sister, stepping onwards to the light” (ref. newspaper articles, Tipperary documents).
c) Women’s Municipal Party [6],1913-1919
In the lead up to elections in 1919, the first election after (some) women gained the right to vote, women formed different groups to try to increase women’s participation. One of these was the Women’s Municipal Party, set up in 1913 by a group of women with the aim of uniting women citizens into an independent party and voting bloc. They primarily focused on advocating for women’s rights and social reform at the local level, particularly within municipal governments.
In 1915 and 1916 (aged 37), Kathleen was part of a group trying to get women councillors onto Hammersmith Borough Council and she became the Chair of the Hammersmith Advisory Committee of the Women’s Municipal Party (ref. minutes, articles).
Pastel of unknown woman, c 1920s
d) The National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations [7] (later to be known as the Conservative Party)
After the First World War, Emmeline Pankhurst was motivated by a commitment to women's empowerment as well as a deep-seated fear of communism, according to her biographers. Both the Liberal and Labour parties bore grudges for her work against them in the WSPU, and the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations had a victorious record after the war and a significant majority. So, in 1926, when Emmeline joined them, it may have been to secure the vote for women [8]. Two years later she was selected as a candidate for Parliament in Whitechapel and St George's.
Kathleen maintained her relationship with Emmeline Pankhurst over the years and joined the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. In Jan 1928 (aged 49), Kathleen received a letter from Emmeline Pankhurst’s secretary asking her to help Mrs Pankhurst with her election work (ref. letter). In 1931, whilst living in Chelsea, Kathleen received two letters from the NUCUA thanking her for helping with campaigning (around Walthamstow and Essex/Middlesex).
Emmeline Pankhurst died on 14 June 1928, only weeks before the Conservative government brought in the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act which at last extended the vote to all women over 21 years of age. In June 1928, Kathleen attended Emmeline Pankhurst’s funeral, where Rev Geikie-Cobb gave the address, and wrote his name on her order of service (ref. order of service leaflet).
Pastel of unknown women, c 1930s
From the 1930s to 1953, Kathleen continued to write to newspapers advocating for women's rights and commenting on Tory policy. However, she often chose to publish under the pseudonym Richard Temple of Gwendwr Road (ref. newspaper articles).
References
Women in Britain only gained the right to vote in stages. The first group in 1918 were those over 30 years who met certain property requirements (different eligibility to men). It was not until 1928 that all people, men, and women, over the age of 21 had the right to vote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_Kingdom
Women's Social and Political Union (1903-1918), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, as a women only organisation. Frustrated with the lack of progress with women’s suffrage, the WSPU was set up to implement more direct action with the motto ‘deeds not words.’ https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/startsuffragette-/
Elizabeth Crawford, ‘Art and Suffrage: a biographical dictionary of suffrage artists,’ 2018, Francis Boutle Publishers
Sketch of Miss Bidwell sold by Dawsons Auctioneers on 25 May 2023 (9.30am) in The May Fine Art & Antiques Auction for £261.
Tipperary League. Mrs Jason Kerr was the originator of the movement and founder of the first Tipperary room in Hammersmith in 1914. Based on the premise of women helping women, they were established to help women suffering and isolated during the First World War when men were at war. In 1915 the Tipperary League formed to centralise and co-ordinate all the Tipperary rooms and fund-raise, with Lady Jellicoe as Chair. The movement was non-political, non-sectarian, self-supporting, and self-organising. (Ref: newspaper articles, archive documents),
Women’s Municipal Party, founded by a group of women in 1913 with the aim of uniting women citizens into an independent party and voting bloc. Their primary goal was to increase women’s participation in local politics, improve living conditions, and address issues affecting women and families. By focusing on local politics, the party contributed to broader social change and paved the way for women’s increased involvement in governance. (Ref: newspaper articles, archive documents).
The National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. There were a number of different names and incarnations for the political coalition relationship between the Conservatives and the Liberal Unionists between the 1880s-1930s.
Emmeline Pankhurst’s Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst
