The Women's Suffrage Movement in Wales, 1866-1928

Ryland Wallace

Description

An organized women’s suffrage movement operated continuously in Britain for more than sixty years, from the mid 1860s until the achievement of equal voting rights with men in 1928. In the decade prior to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, both militant suffragettes and law-abiding suffragists ensured that the issue came to the forefront of British politics. This book presents a comprehensive investigation of the movement in Wales, which participated in the agitation throughout the whole of the period.

Grounded in primary research of extensive archival material, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Wales assesses the impact of all the various campaigning organizations, highlighting the role of the many hugely committed but unsung individuals on whom local impact was dependent, and accounting for the stances adopted by various politicians as well as parliamentary developments. The book covers the dramatic and sensational actions of the suffragettes in Wales (including several of the most widely publicized clashes between demonstrators and authority outside London), and the more mundane work undertaken by the vast majority of campaigners across the decades – with due consideration of the arguments and organized resistance of the opponents of women’s suffrage. This is a study that focuses on the survival of the campaign in the face of wartime difficulties, detailing the much-neglected last decade of the campaign, between the granting of partial enfranchisement in 1918 and the triumph of equal franchise in 1928.

SERIES EDITORS’ FOREWORD
PREFACE
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Introduction
The Victorian Women’s Suffrage Campaign
The Women’s Social and Political Union, 1903–1914
The Women’s Freedom League, 1907–1914
The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, 1897–1914
The Opposition to Women’s Suffrage
The Impact of the First World War
The Campaign for Equal Suffrage, 1918–1928
Epilogue
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Sujets

• Women's Studies
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• 20th century
• Wales

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786833280
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 35 Mo

Extrait

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Ralph A. Griffiths,
Chris Williams and Eryn M. White
1866–1928
This is the twenty-third volume in the Studies in Welsh History series.
For further series titles, visit www.uwp.co.uk
n organized women’s suffrage movement operated continuously in Britain
for more than sixty years, from the mid-1860s until the achievement ofA
equal voting rights with men in 1928. In the decade prior to the outbreak of
the First World War in 1914, both militant suffragettes and law-abiding
suffragists ensured that the issue came to the forefront of British politics. This
book presents a comprehensive investigation of the movement in Wales, which
participated in agitation throughout the whole of the period.
Grounded in primary research of extensive archival material, The Women’s
Suffrage Movement in Wales assesses the impact of all the various campaigning
organizations, highlighting the role of the many hugely committed but unsung
individuals on whom local impact was dependent, and accounting for the
stances adopted by various politicians as well as parliamentary developments.
The book covers the dramatic and sensational actions of the suffragettes in
Wales (including several of the most widely publicized clashes between
demonstrators and authority outside London), and the more mundane work
undertaken by the vast majority of campaigners across the decades – with due
consideration of the arguments and organized resistance of the opponents of
women’s suffrage. This is a study focusing on the survival of the campaign in
the face of wartime difficulties, detailing its much-neglected last decade,
between the granting of partial enfranchisement in 1918 and the triumph of
equal franchise in 1928.
For over thirty years, Ryland Wallace was lecturer in history at Coleg Gwent. His
volume, ‘Organise! Organise! Organise!’ A Study of Reform Agitations in Wales, 1840–1886,
appeared in the Studies in Welsh History series in 1991, and he is the author of
various articles on Welsh history.  
Cover illustration: www.uwp.co.uk
‘Great Votes for Women Demonstration in Hyde Park’,
Sunday, 21 June 1908 © Museum of London
ISBN 978-1-78683-327-3
GWASG PRIFYSGOL CYMRU
UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS 97 1786 833273
ovi^ka=t^ii^`b00 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page i
STUDIES IN WELSH HISTORY
Series editors
RALPH A. GRIFFITHS CHRIS WILLIAMS
ERYN M. WHITE
23
THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT
IN WALES, 1866–192800 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page ii
Banner of the Newport WSPU, from the collection
of Newport Museum and Art Gallery.00 Prelims.qxp 16/04/2018 12:26 Page iii
THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
MOVEMENT IN WALES,
1866–1928
by
RYLAND WALLACE
CARDIFF
UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS00 Prelims.qxp 02/05/2018 14:01 Page iv
© Ryland Wallace, 2009
First published in paperback, 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium
by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally
to some other use of this publication) without the written
permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copyright owner’s
written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should
be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk,
Brigantine Place, Cardiff, CF10 4UP.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.
ISBN 978-1-7868-3327-3
e-ISBN 978-1-7868-3328-0
The right of Ryland Wallace to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with Sections 77, 78 and 79
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Printed in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wilts.00 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page v
SERIES EDITORS’ FOREWORD
Since the foundation of the series in 1977, the study of Wales’s
history has attracted growing attention among historians
internationally and continues to enjoy a vigorous popularity.
Not only are approaches, both traditional and new, to the
study of history in general being successfully applied in a
Welsh context, but Wales’s historical experience is
increasingly appreciated by writers on British, European and world
history. These advances have been especially marked in the
university institutions in Wales itself.
In order to make more widely available the conclusions of
original research, much of it of limited accessibility in
postgraduate dissertations and theses, in 1977 the History and Law
Committee of the Board of Celtic Studies inaugurated this
series of monographs, Studies in Welsh History. It was
anticipated that many of the volumes would originate in research
conducted in the University of Wales or under the auspices of
the Board of Celtic Studies, and so it proved. Although the
Board of Celtic Studies no longer exists, the University of
Wales continues to sponsor the series. It seeks to publish
significant contributions made by researchers in Wales and
elsewhere. Its primary aim is to serve historical scholarship
and to encourage the study of Welsh history.00 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page vii
CONTENTS
SERIES EDITORS’ FOREWORD v
PREFACE ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi
Introduction 1
I The Victorian Women’s Suffrage Campaign 10
II The Women’s Social and Political Union,
1903–1914 52
III The Women’s Freedom League, 1907–1914 101
IV The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies,
1897–1914 131
V The Opposition to Women’s Suffrage 184
VI The Impact of the First World War 219
VII The Campaign for Equal Suffrage, 1918–1928 251
Epilogue 287
BIBLIOGRAPHY 296
INDEX 32100 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page ix
PREFACE
The origins of this study lie in my earlier book, ‘Organise!
Organise! Organise!’ A Study of Reform Agitations in Wales, 1840–
1886, which was published by the University of Wales Press in
1991. This included a chapter on ‘Women’s rights’, which
focused on the early women’s suffrage movement and the
contagious diseases campaign. Further research into women’s
suffrage in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Wales
beckoned as a natural development. It continued the theme of
extra-parliamentary agitation and, moreover, the subject was
one which had scarcely been touched by historians of Wales.
I embarked on the research with the notion, based at that
time on no substantial body of evidence, that the suffrage
movement made little impression on Wales and that what I
should uncover would be minimal. I could not have been more
wrong, and the subsequent enterprise has proved to be one of
unforeseen scale and scope. To begin with, I dived into the
early issues of The Suffragette newspaper of 1912. Turning the
pages of the bulky volume in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, I
was immediately startled by the weekly reports of activity all
over the country. As I continued my investigations into the
movement’s archives, I found avenues opening in many
directions and numerous potential lines of enquiry presented
themselves. A major study proved inescapable.
This book has been a long time in the making. Full-time
teaching and summers dominated by cricket have led to
lengthy periods of neglect. At the same time, the sheer wealth
of primary source material surviving in libraries and record
offices around the country has made research into the theme
labour intensive and time consuming. Information for the
study of women’s suffrage in Wales is abundant but invariably
lies tucked away in scattered archives and in a variety of
newspapers and periodicals.
My researches have left me indebted to the librarians and
archivists at the various institutions listed in the bibliography.
I am grateful to the staff at my local public libraries in00 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page x
x PREFACE
Abergavenny and Brecon for patiently dealing with my many
requests for inter library loan material; my daughter, Laura,
did likewise while at university. I thank my sister, Diana, for
conveniently living in north London and providing me with
food and shelter on my countless visits to libraries and other
institutions over the years. I thank Sue Baylik and Graham
Strange for similar hospitality.
Professor Geraint H. Jenkins, director of the Centre for
Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth, carefully
read a draft of the first chapter and offered valuable advice. I
am also grateful to the editors of the Studies in Welsh History
series, Emeritus Professor Ralph A. Griffiths, Professor Chris
Williams and Dr Eryn White, for their thorough reading and
comments on the original manuscript. The errors and
shortcomings that remain are, of course, my own responsibility.
I am particularly indebted to Professor Ralph Griffiths for
his considerable support and encouragement to this work;
certainly, before contacting him, my attempts at gaining
publishers’ interest had proved fruitless. I also thank those
members of staff at the University of Wales Press – especially
Sarah Lewis, Elin Lewis, Siân Chapman and Bethan James –
whosoefficientlyandconsideratelyguidedthevolumethrough
the various stages of publication. Teleri Williams proved a
splendid copy-editor. Rachael Anderton (Newport Museum
and Art Gallery) and Katrina Coopey (Cardiff Central
Library) were very helpful in my pursuit of illustrations.
Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of
£870 towards research costs awarded to me by the British
Academy.00 Prelims 24/3/09 11:57 Page xi
ABBREVIATIONS
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS
ASR Anti-Suffrage Review SWDN South Wales Daily News
CC The Common Cause SWDP South Wales Daily Post
CDH Carnarvon and Denbigh SWWP South Wales Weekly Post
Herald VW Votes for Women
CN Cambrian News WF Women’s Franchise
CT Cardiff Times WM Western Mail
ER Englishwoman’s Review WSJ Women’s Suffrage Journal
NWC North Wales Chronicle
ORGANIZATIONS
BWSWS Bristol and West of Eng