Suffragette Planners and Plotters - the Pankhurst, Pethick-Lawrence story
by Kathryn Atherton
In 2018 a blue plaque was unveiled at the Dutch House in South Holmwood in recognition of the part that Emmeline and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence played in national political life. Fred and Emmeline were an extraordinary couple and theirs is an extraordinary political and personal story. Emmeline was treasurer of Mrs Pankhurst's militant Women's Social and Political Union. Fred was the only man to achieve leadership status in the organization. Without their wealth, determination and skills we might never have heard of the 'suffragettes'. Emmeline was always at Mrs Pankhurst's side whilst Fred was the 'Godfather' who stood bail for a thousand women. Both were imprisoned and forcibly-fed. They provided the militant movement with its colours, its home, and much of its vision, and it was their associates who initiated the hunger strike and who brought force-feeding to national attention. But in 1912 the couple were dramatically ousted from the organization by the Pankhursts in a move that has often been misrepresented.
This recent book paints a portrait of the couple and their relationship with the Pankhursts, and of their inspirational fight, not just for the vote for women, but for freedom and equality across the world. The Pethick-Lawrences were once as well known as the Pankhursts. But they have been neglected by history. This is the first book to give them the recognition that their part in the fight for the vote deserves, shedding new light on the development of the militant campaign. It is also the first to address in detail the complexities of the dramatic split with the Pankhursts which has been misunderstood for a hundred years.
