Five things you didn’t know about the suffragettes

To coincide with the launch of the suffragette special on the Rebel Women podcast, here are some facts you were probably never taught in school.

The version most people know about the suffragettes is a narrow retelling of the story. Some bits are also simply untrue. Here are five facts that set the record straight.

When women were granted the vote in the 1918, it marked a victorious moment for a united women’s movement.
False. As historian, David Rosenberg says on the Rebel Women podcast, it is more accurate to describe it as a victorious moment for a disunited movement. The suffragettes held hugely diverging opinions on everything from which women should be in the movement, to their position on the war and Irish independence. In 1914, tensions became so bad that Emmeline Pankhurst kicked her daughter Sylvia out of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Frustration with the lack of democracy within the WSPU resulted in some leaving of their own accord, going on to form the Women’s Freedom League.

The suffragette colours were purple, green and white.
False (at least not originally). The first branches of the WSPU were set up in East London by Sylvia Pankhurst and Annie Kenny. These branches held strong ties with the Independent Labour Party (ILP), recruiting many members from there. One of the earliest marches went from Caxton Hall to Parliament, with women carrying red banners to represent the labour movement. Emmeline felt labour rights were a distraction, and soon relieved Sylvia of her responsibilities. The red flags were replaced by purple, green and white, which the suffragettes are now famous for. However, in 1914, when the East London suffragettes formed their break-away group, their flag was purple, green, white and red.

The suffragette anthem was March of the Women
False (as above). On that same march from Caxton Hall, the women sang the socialist anthem, The Red Flag. Emmeline Pankhurst got rid off this too, replacing it with the March of the Women, composed by Ethel Smyth.

Emmeline Pankhurst was part of the white feather campaign.
True. When war broke out, the Women’s Social and Political Union stopped all agitation and threw their energies into the war effort. Emmeline became involved in the White Feather campaign, where these symbols of cowardice were handed out to seemingly able-bodied men who had not enlisted. Intended to publicly shame, there was never much consideration given to why a man had not signed up. It was not unheard of for a boy as young as 15 to rush off to the recruitment office after receiving these passive aggressive tokens.

Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst were Tories
True. Although Emmeline had been instrumental in establishing the ILP with her husband Richard, after his death she moved significantly to the right. She eventually broke all ties with the ILP, and her last political act was to stand for election in East London as a Conservative Party candidate. Christabel also stood for election. Although official with the Women’s Party, the Conservative Party candidate stood aside in the seat she was contesting due to her right wing policies, including the abolition of trade unions.

To discover more fascinating facts, download the latest episode on the suffragettes on the Rebel Women podcast. Available where ever you listen.