25 Facts About Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence was a British women's rights activist, suffragist and pacifist.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence's father, Henry Pethick of Cornish farming stock, was a businessman and merchant of South American hide, who became owner of the Weston Gazette, and a Weston town commissioner.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was the second of 13 children, five who died in infancy, and her younger sister, Dorothy Pethick, was a suffragist.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was reluctant to conform from an early age and got into trouble frequently at school.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was then educated at private schools in England, France and Germany.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence ran a girls' club at the mission with Mary Neal and they became friends and lived together.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence feared that a conventional marriage with him would curtail her independence and prevent her from her social service work, so turned down his first marriage proposal.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence attended a number of protests and events with the Pankhursts.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence participated in the aborted visit to the Prime Minister in late June 1908, along with Jessie Stephenson, Florence Haig, Maud Joachim and Mary Phillips, after which there was some violent treatment of women protestors, and a number of arrests.

In 1908, together with Beatrice Sanders and Mrs Knight, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence organised WSPU's first Week of Self-Denial, where supporters of the suffragette movement were asked to go without certain necessities for a week, donating the money saved to the WSPU.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence chose the suffragette campaigning colours of purple, white and green.

In 1911, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence took part in the suffrage boycott of the government's census survey by graffitiing votes for women on her enumeration form.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence founded and edited the publication Votes for Women with her husband from 1907.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was force fed during this period of imprisonment.

At the conference, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was formed and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence became a member.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence supported the Six Point Group and Open Door Council.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence's husband Frederick worked on a farm in Sussex as a conscientious objector and was a founding member of the Union of Democratic Control.

In 1919, when women were first permitted to stand in elections, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence stood as a Labour candidate for Rusholme in Manchester.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence's husband was later elected Member of Parliament for Leicester West in 1923.

In 1938, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence published her memoirs, My Part in a Changing World, which discuss the radicalization of the suffrage movement just before the First World War and how the women's and peace movements were closely allied in England.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was involved in the setting up of the Suffragette Fellowship with Edith How-Martyn to document the women's suffrage movement.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence became the president of the Women's Freedom League from 1926 to 1935, and was elected its president in honour in 1953.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was involved in the campaign led by Marie Stopes to provide birth-control to working class women.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence died at home her in Fourways, Gomshall, Surrey, in 1954 following a heart attack.

Gladys Groom-Smith, interviewed in June and August 1976, was secretary to the Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence's, working alongside Esther Knowles who trained her.