Three figures approach a doorway, lured in by the promise of a ‘stupendous’ time, their shapes thrown into relief by the bright lights of the picture house. The image comes from Shall We Go to the Pictures?, written by…
Category: Event
Women’s History Month: From the Trade Union Congress.
The Trade Boards Act 1909 introduced minimum wages in certain industries. In 1910, the Chainmaking Trade Board set a rate of 2½d per hour for adult women workers which was almost double the rate paid at the time. Mary Macarthur…
Women’s History Month: Constance Markievicz and the Feminist-Republican Dilemma
One of the great ironies of British suffrage history is that the first woman elected to Westminster, Constance Markievicz, was in fact Irish. Markievicz stood as a Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin’s St Patrick’s Division in 1918, winning her seat…
Women’s History Month: Death of Nellie McPherson, the first seawomen to die in WW1.
Few people know that women seafarers sailed in wartime. The stereotype is of rugged Cap’n Birdseye types in sou’westers standing stalwart at the storm-lashed wheel. But women were there – in surprisingly large numbers, as I found when writing my…
Women’s History Month: What about the nanny? Thoughts on Mothering Sunday
Today, as the shops have been telling us for at least a month now, is Mother’s Day, the day when mothers are supposed to have a holiday, put their feet up and receive cards, flowers and presents from their children.…
Women’s History Month: Army accepts women in principle, for first time.
World War One’s history is full of lively women longing to support (as well as oppose) the war effort. And in many cases they went off and did so by themselves after rebuffs from high-up chaps who declared ‘We don’t…
Women’s History Month: Parliamentary debate: Should women work on warships?
Women served with the British Royal Navy since 1917. But their motto – perhaps said through gritted teeth – was ‘Never at Sea.’ Officially, members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) were only allowed to help the war effort…
Women’s History Month: International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women-past, present and future. It was first celebrated in 1911 and the day has often been commemorated for the last century by feminists on the streets, fighting for their social, economic and political…
Women’s History Month: The International Year of the Nurse.
This year marks the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale, and in the world of nursing and nursing history this is a reason for celebration of a woman who is regarded by many as the founder of modern nursing.…