Gabrielle Violet Jeffery (1886–1940) was a British

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and one of the founders of the

Catholic Women's Suffrage Society St. Joan's International Alliance is a non profit women's organisation. St. Joan's is a feminist Catholic organisation, with a focus on women's equality. It is named after St. Joan of Arc. The organisation has played a major role in influencing t ...

(1911–1923), predecessor of the St Joan's International Alliance.

Biography

Jeffery was born in 1886 in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. Her father was J. E. B. Jeffery who worked for the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

. She became active in the women's suffrage movement, and 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 1909. She became a paid WSPU organiser in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Wales. On 8 December 1910, coincidentally the date of the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the l ...

, Jeffery was waiting outside

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, ...

to welcome the release of imprisoned suffragettes. This was common practice for the WSPU at the time. Whilst waiting, Jeffery met Mary Kendall and they discussed the idea of creating a Roman Catholic women's suffrage organization to bring together Catholics, both male and female, to work towards women's suffrage. Jeffery and Kendall founded the

(CWSS) in 1911. Jeffery served as honorary secretary and treasurer. It was the only organized group of Roman Catholics in England established to actively and publicly participate in the campaign for women's enfranchisement, and the founders hoped that the organisation would give Catholic women a respectable way of becoming active in the movement. Over time the Society extended its interests and campaigned on other women's issues such as equal pay. Jeffery died in 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffery, Gabrielle 1886 births 1940 deaths Activists from Devon 20th-century Roman Catholics Women's Social and Political Union British suffragists Women founders