Amy Sanderson (suffragette)
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Amy Sanderson née Reid (1876–1931), was a Scottish
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 ...
, national executive committee member 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 ...
, who was imprisoned twice. She was key speaker at the 1912 Hyde Park women's rally, after marching from Edinburgh to London, and, with
Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, the Women's Pe ...
and
Teresa Billington-Greig Teresa Billington-Greig (15 October 1876 – 21 October 1964) was a British suffragette who was one of the founders of the Women's Freedom League in 1907. She had left the Women's Social and Political Union - also known as the WSPU – as she ...
, was a British delegate to the 1908 and 1923 international women's congresses.


Family life

Born Amy Reid in 1876 in
Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...
, North Lanarkshire to father James Reid (born 1838) a spirits cellarsman (or hotel keeper) from Kincardine,
Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
and mother Janet Reid née Kerr, also born 1838, from Glasgow. Her grandfather was a Chartist. By the 1881 Census, the Reids were living at 94 Muir Street, Dalziel,
Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
. Amy Reid was one of six siblings, five older than her: Mary W. Reid born 1860, Elizabeth Reid (a shopwoman) born 1862, Andrew Reid (a chemist's assistant) born 1864, Bertha Reid born 1876 and a younger brother James F. Reid born 1876. The family had English boarders: the Horsman family (Charles Horsman, Ellen Horsman -both comedians - and their 13 year old daughter Ellen Maud ), Harry Thomas (also a comedian), and Mary Fortescue described as a 55 year old widow annuitant. She married James Sanderson, a wireworker journeyman, on 10 August 1901 at Trinity Congregational Church,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Amy Sanderson died in 1931.


Suffrage activism

Sanderson joined the
Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...
(WSPU) in 1906 and was arrested at the 'Women's Parliament' militant protest at the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in 1907. She started speaking at events in Scotland on behalf of WPSU. In October 1907, she joined the break-away
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 ...
(WLF) and served on its national executive committee for three years. She wrote that most of the Scottish branches of WSPU became affiliated to WFL. Sanderson was asked by the headquarters to go urgently to Aberdeen and wrote to Caroline Phillips the local organiser, due to differences in opinion on tactics, and was regarded as a good organiser for new territory for suffrage activism (in
Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...
), by WFL leader Theresa Billington-Greig. In February 1908, Sanderson was arrested a second time and imprisoned for a month in
Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a British prison security categories, closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, ...
in London, with others in a small militant group who had accosted Prime Minister
H.H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
at his home in
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. She was given a
Holloway brooch The Holloway brooch was presented by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) to women who had been imprisoned at HM Prison Holloway, Holloway Prison for militant suffragette activity. It is also referred to as the "Portcullis badge", the "H ...
designed by
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 ...
for being imprisoned for the cause of women's votes. In 1908, she went to
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where she spoke along with Anna Munro, Mrs Donaldson and Mrs Duguid to an audience who were said to be '''most sympathetic and attentive, expressing entire approval of the militant tactics''.' Sanderson also spoke at
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
and in the Prince of Wales Halls, a large venue in Glasgow, where she was introduced by Miss Husband of Dundee. Sanderson (and again Anna Munro) shared some of the details of their prison experiences and she particularly emphasised the need for
prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...
as something that women should vote for (once they had won the vote). She also shared part of a hymn the women had sung in the prison:
'The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows where we play, The rushes by the water, We gather every day, In Holloway!'
Campaigning in the area of
Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...
, Sanderson reported as enjoyable despite heckling from fisher families, remarks from road repairers and yet many 'happy smiles' and waves from some, as Anna Munro and she cycled the area with bicycles showing placards of 'Votes for Women', 'Keep the Liberals Out', Taxation without Representation is Tyranny', and the pair were thinking'what a blessed change from Holloway Prison'. Of course the election was not won, but at a later large meeting, launching a WFU branch in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Sanderson spoke about the 'loss' of the election in Kincardine as being due to a conservative attitude in Liberal voters (voting the same way as fathers and grandfathers) and about being disappointed that the Women's Unionist Association there had not promoted women's suffrage as an election issue. She was interviewed after the event and reported as saying that many more women were supporting the movement, but that the militant tactics are deferred pending 'responsible members of the Government' making a positive move to enfranchise women, without which 'we will proceed with even greater vigour than before'. In June 1908, Sanderson was with Theresa Billington-Greig, and
Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, the Women's Pe ...
as delegates in
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at the 4th Conference of the International Suffrage Alliance, where she spoke of the negative attitude of the British government, and of the middle class women, which led to the Alliance voting to hold its next meeting in London. During 1909, Sanderson's role was in organising the
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
branches and as a touring platform speaker, with upcoming public events widely publicised and commented on in the local press.  In
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, where a man was heard to say that the suffragettes ' look like women with a purpose' and local press saw the women's issues as to the fore in the election, or in
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where there were 'flippant elements' but Sanderson was said to have 'held the attention of the intelligent portion of the audience all through', her speaking tour progress was reported to the WFL. She had a successful three day speaking tour of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, where M. E. Manning reported that 'Mrs Sanderson's eloquence carried all before it, and in each case the meeting was almost unanimous in its support''.' '' Sanderson's Scottish tour had included Forfar, where she had lived for a time, and where she bemoaned lack of adequate support for the campaigning work she was doing but she quoted the reactions to seeing women chalking the pavements, ringing bells and mounting lorries to speak in public, with remarks from men and women in the local dialect, some finally saying '''Ca awa, wifie, yer daein fine'''. In
Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...
where she went with Anna Munro, she found a '''hotbed of Liberalism'. ''At an open-air meeting in Hartlepool, she held the crowd's attention for 90minutes, explaining the arguments for women's suffrage and for
equal pay for equal work Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the fu ...
. She was reported as saying that female factory workers and teachers are paid less than men for the same or better quality of work. Sanderson debunked the popular arguments of the anti-suffrage case, including that suffragettes are all 'old maids' when in fact most were married women, who had ' ''the best husbands in the world, or else we could not be suffragettes. A woman who was used as a doormat or a slave could not be a suffragette, because she was afraid to call her soul her own''.' As well as open air meetings, Sanderson spoke at the At Home''' events such as in the Portman Rooms, London, where she had been buoyed up by the enthusiasm there for the cause, encouraging her for speaking in towns and villages where there was little or no awareness of the women's suffrage issues. Sanderson's speaking tour in 1910 included a drawing room meeting in
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and a public meeting in
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with Alice Schofield Coates and speaking at the WFL branch in
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and at the founding of an Eccles Branch. At a mass rally in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
on 3 April 1910, Sanderson was one of the main speakers focussing on 'politics', with fellow activists
Muriel Matters Muriel Lilah Matters (12 November 1877 – 17 November 1969) also known as Muriel Matters-Porter, was an Australian-born suffragist, lecturer, journalist, educator, actress and elocutionist. Based in Britain from 1905 until her death, Matters i ...
and Emma Sproson; at an open air meeting in
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where she was reported to have held the crowd as much by her earnestness as by her logical arguments'.'' In June 2010, ten Scottish branches of WFL were represented in the 'great procession' of ten or twelve thousand women, seven hundred banners and forty bands; Sanderson was grouped with the 617 'prisoners' or 'martyrs' proceeding to Hyde Park. The Scottish banner said '''What's guid for John is guid for Janet'.'' Later that year, Sanderson was writing in ''The Vote'' strongly criticising the Labour Party before the next election, for ''''a curious mixture of earnest championship, lukewarm support, indifference and hostility'.'' Referring to the party's duty to working class women, Sanderson said:
'''Surely the women who have fought so determinedly during the last four years, who have been reviled and abused, imprisoned and tortured for asking simple justice, have a claim on a party that champions sweated workers, 82 per cent of whom are women''.'
The 1910 WFL Conference report refers to the active engagement of the provincial and Scottish representatives; Sanderson is pictured with the National Executive Committee and WFL President Mrs Despard at
Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and a ...
. Sanderson's speech there was wider than women's suffrage, talking about work opportunities and quoting the police force in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, USA who had female patrol beat officers, a point which was supported by chair, Archdeacon Escreet. She also spoke up for joint male/female administration of all kinds of laws, in the best interest of society, and about the risks of a 'personality' culture. In March 1912, Sanderson had returned to activism after a period of illness, and spoke at the WFL Conference which sent congratulations to women's organizations in
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and
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on their achievements of votes for women, the previous year. In October 1912, she was involved in the ' Brown March' from Edinburgh to London, speaking to the group passing through York, where they had gathered signatures from 36 out of 48 councillors to a petition for votes for women. Sanderson then joined the women's groups from all over the country gathering in their thousands in Hyde Park, where she was one of the leading speakers at the mass rally. When
World War One World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...
began, suffragette prisoners, including Sanderson, were pardoned by the British government in return for stopping their militancy. A decade after founding of WFL, the organisation looked back at its troubled beginnings as a split from WSPU and thanked its first executive committee.


International delegate

In May 1923, Sanderson was again a delegate at the Congress of the International Suffrage Alliance this time in
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, Italy where women had no voting rights at all. The Congress was opened by
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
, whom she reported to be so impressed by the scope of the international event and the women's procession that he '''promised, if he is in power next year, to give the municipal vote to the women of Italy'''.' The brief report of her talk to the Edinburgh Branch of WFL commented '''Even a Dictator is not sure of himself in these days, apparently.''' and said Sanderson was a '''valuable' addition to the branch.''


Images

Sanderson was photographed in prison by the police (image is in the Museum of London) and her 1907 posed photograph, wearing the Holloway brooch was used in publicity postcards for WSPU. (''Note:'' one of these cards was advertised for sale in 2017 for £130+VAT, and by auctioneers Rogers Jones in 2019, for an estimated £100–£160).


See also

*
Feminism in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, as in other countries, feminism seeks to establish political, social, and economic equality for women. The history of feminism in Britain dates to the very beginnings of feminism itself, as many of the earliest feminist wr ...
*
List of suffragists and suffragettes This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the publi ...
*
List of women's rights activists Notable women's rights activists are as follows, arranged alphabetically by modern country names and by the names of the persons listed: Afghanistan * Amina Azimi – disabled women's rights advocate * Hasina Jalal – women's empowerment activis ...
*
List of women's rights organizations This is a list of women's organization by civics International * All India Democratic Women's Association – founded in 1981 to achieve women's emancipation in India Yes Helping Hand– Founded in 2009 for empowerment and employment of Women, D ...
*
Timeline of women's suffrage Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, in which cases women and men from certain Social ...
*
Women's suffrage organizations This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the #Wome ...


External links

* Police photo of Amy Sanderson 1907-


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Amy 1876 births 1931 deaths Women's Social and Political Union Women's Freedom League Scottish suffragettes Scottish women's rights activists