Alison Roberta Noble Neilans (19 June 1884 – 17 July 1942) was an English

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

. Neilans was a member of the executive committee of the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom from 1907 to 1961 which campaigned for women's suffrage, pacifism and sexual equality. It was founded by former members of the Women's Social and Political Union after the Pa ...

, a member of the

Church League for Women's Suffrage The Church League for Women's Suffrage (CLWS) was an organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. The league was started in London, but by 1913 it had branches across England, in Wales and Scotland and Ireland. Aims an ...

and the East London Federation of Suffragettes, where she worked with

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

. She was also a member of the board of the

International Woman Suffrage Alliance The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...

Life

Neilans was born at

East Dulwich East Dulwich is an area of South (London sub region), South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. East Dulwich is home to the Dog Kenn ...

, Surrey on 19 June 1884. She had a good life until her father died when she was age 12, and she was obliged to work as a bookkeeper. She became the financial secretary of the Women's Freedom League in 1908. Neilans was imprisoned three times for her activities; twice, for one month each occurrence, in 1908 and once, for three months, in 1909. Her third prison sentence was for pouring liquid into ballot boxes at a local

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. She and

Alice Chapin Alice Chapin or Alice Ferris (August 28, 1857 – July 5, 1934) was an American actress, playwright and suffragette active in England. She returned to America and played roles in silent films. Life Chapin was born in Keene, New Hampshire to Ephr ...

splashed chemicals over the ballot papers in the 1909 Bermondsey by-election.Gale, Maggie B. ‘Chapin, Harold (1886–1915)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 201
accessed 10 Nov 2017
/ref> The protest was intended to highlight that the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

had refused to see a deputation of suffrage campaigners who had been sitting outside the House of Commons since July. Chapin was successful in damaging many ballot papers, and Neilans damaged a few. Most of the ballot papers were still readable and

John Dumphreys John Molesworth Thomas Dumphreys (24 December 1844 – 18 December 1925) was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Bermondsey in a 1909 by-election, but weeks later lost the seat to the Liberals at the Janu ...

was elected. However, presiding officer George Thorley had chemicals splashed in his eye. At their trials the doctors said that Thorley may have a haze over his eyes for life but Thorley stated that he did not believe that injury had been intended. Some suffragettes believed that Thorley had exaggerated his injury and that the damage was due to someone applying ammonia after the incident in an attempt at treatment. Chapin and Neilans were tried at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, and Neilans later published an account of their defence. Chapin was given a larger sentence than Neilans, but she was released two days after her under the "King's Pardon". In August 1913, Neilans was the speaker for the daily meetings of the

'Clyde Coast Campaign', which included

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Wemyss Bay, which also offers an ...

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

and

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neilans, Alison Roberta Noble 1884 births 1942 deaths English suffragists English feminists Members of the Workers' Socialist Federation People from East Dulwich