Beatrice Helen Sanders (1874 – 29 November 1932) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

suffragette and humanist, who served as financial secretary of 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 ...

from 1904 until 1914.

Life

Born Beatrice Helen Martin, her mother was a hairdresser and she worked as an assistant in her fathers' tobacconist shop before marrying a progressive social politician, William Stephen Sanders. A keen women's suffrage activist, from 1904 until 1914, she was employed, at a salary of £3 a week, as the financial secretary of the Women's Social and Political Union.

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

recalled in her memoirs Sanders' strong control of members' expenses, as they would be expected to correct errors or deficits "out of our own pocket". Sanders worked closely 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 ...

, and was imprisoned for her activities on multiple occasions. On one occasion, she was sentenced to fourteen months for taking part in the events 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 February 1907, and for a month for throwing stones on Black Friday in November 1910. By 1913, as financial secretary of the

, she was arrested with

Harriet Kerr Harriet Roberta Kerr (1859–1940) was a British suffragette and office manager of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Life Kerr was born in 1859 in Wanstead, Essex. Her father was a professor of architecture at King's College Lond ...

after a struggle with police which was front-page news in '' The Suffragette'', when the premises at Clement's Inn was raided, the sentence was fifteen days. She went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in Lewes prison and was temporarily released under the terms of the

Cat and Mouse Act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. The Cat and Mouse Act wa ...

, and although her sentence was never annulled, she was not re-arrested. Sanders' name appears on the 'Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners'. She was also given a

Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, many went on hunger strike while serving the ...

'for Valour' by the WSPU. Sanders and her husband were longstanding members of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

and the West London Ethical Society (part of the Union of Ethical Societies, now

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

). During the 1920s Beatrice served as chair of the Fabian Women's Group. For a period when her husband was working in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, she became an organiser in the Swiss women's movement. Beatrice Sanders died on 29 November 1932 at the age of 58. The Suffragette front page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Beatrice 1874 births 1932 deaths English suffragettes Members of the Fabian Society Women's Social and Political Union English humanists