14 Facts About Jane Rae

Jane Rae was a Scottish political activist, suffragist, councillor and justice of the peace.

Jane Rae was one of the activists involved in the 1911 all-out strike at the Singer Sewing Machine factory at Kilbowie in Clydebank.

Jane Rae was active in the women's suffrage movement and in the Clydeside Rent Strike.

Jane Rae became Branch Secretary of the Clydebank branch of the Independent Labour Party, and served as a Labour councillor for Clydebank Town Council from 1922 to 1928.

Jane Rae is commemorated with a plaque in the gardens of Clydebank Town Hall.

Jane Rae worked at the Singer Sewing Machine factory at Kilbowie in Clydebank in the 'Needle Flat' department where needles were made, sorted and checked.

Jane Rae was described as being strikingly tall, determined, strong-willed and studious, with political conviction in progressing society and improving conditions for workers.

Jane Rae was active in women's suffrage, and once chaired a talk given by Emmeline Pankhurst at Clydebank Town Hall.

Jane Rae was involved in the temperance, anti-war and cooperative movements, and in the Clydeside Rent Strike.

Jane Rae was a Justice of the Peace, and in carrying out her duties was known for handing out the toughest sentences possible to men that had subjected women to domestic violence.

In 1929, after the death of her mother, Jane Rae married her longtime Australian friend Alfred Coates, and emigrated with him to Australia.

In 1946, after her husband died, Jane Rae returned to Clydebank where she remained until her death in 1959.

Jane Rae cared passionately about her community and was involved in the Clydebank Rent Strike during the 1920s.

In 2012 the BBC produced a short film about the strike at the Singer Sewing Machine factory, and an actor portraying Jane Rae narrated the story.