Mildred Ella Mansel (, c. 1868 – 11 March 1942) was a British

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 ...

and organiser for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Family

Mansel was born in 1868 in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Her parents were the conservative politician Arthur Guest (1841–1898) and suffragist Adeline Chapman (1847–1931). Her mother was a member of the Central Society for Women's Suffrage and the

Women's Tax Resistance League The Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL) was from 1909 to 1918 a direct action group associated with the Women's Freedom League that used tax resistance to protest against the disenfranchisement of women during the British women's suffrage mov ...

. She had a brother, Arthur Rhuvon Guest. Her family were well connected in society, as Mansel’s grandmother was the aristocrat and linguist

Lady Charlotte Guest Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the ''Mabinogion'', the earliest prose li ...

(1812–1895) and her first cousin was

Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, Order of St Patrick, KP, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (16 January 1873 – 14 June 1939), known as Lord Ashby St Ledgers from 1910 to 1914 and as Lord Wimborne from 1914 to 1918, was a British ...

(1873–1939), member of Parliament for

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

chief whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

. She married Colonel John Delalynde Mansel of Bayford Lodge,

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a populatio ...

in 1888. They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Activism

Mansel became an campaigner for women's enfranchisement and was a member of the WSPU by 1909. During the Bill of Rights March on 29 June 1909, Mansel was arrested with Evelina Haverfield and

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

as they had tried to break into 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 ...

and present a petition to Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister. Mansel became an organiser of the Bath WSPU branch in 1910 and supported the establishment of a new branch in

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

. When Grace Roe was sent to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

to recruit for the WSPU and set up a branch, she invited Mansel and

Marie Brackenbury Marie Venetia Caroline Brackenbury (1866–1950) was a British painter who was a militant suffragette and suffragette artist. She was jailed for demonstrating for women's rights. She followed Emmeline Pankhurst's lead as she became more militant ...

to support her there. Fructu-Luteo Holly on 21 October 1910 planted by Mildred Mansel

On 21 October 1910, Mansel was invited to plant a tree at Eagle House, known as "suffragette's rest". She planted an ''Ilex Aquifolium Fructu-Luteo Holly'' and the surviving plaque is held in the collection of the Roman Baths Museum. In 1911, Mansel participated in the suffragette boycott of the 1911 census and hired 12 Lansdowne Crescent in Bath to be used by the 35 local census evaders, including

Mary Blathwayt Mary Blathwayt (1 February 1879 – 25 June 1961) was a British feminist, suffragette and social reformer. She lived at Eagle House in Somerset. This house became known as the "Suffragette's Rest" and contained a memorial to the protests o ...

of Eagle House. She also participated in an 'at home' meeting in the home of

Mary Morris Mary Lilian Agnes Morris (13 December 1915 – 14 October 1988) was a Fijian-born British actress. Life and career Morris was the daughter of Australian-born Herbert Stanley Morris, a botanist, and his wife, Sylvia Ena de Creft-Harford. She ...

in preparation for a London Procession, and gave a speech in support of women's suffrage with

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 ...

Melksham Town Hall Melksham Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Melksham, Wiltshire, England. The structure, which was built as a cheese market and is now the home of Melksham Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The west side ...

. Mansel was arrested after the failure of the Conciliation Bill in November 1911 in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and was sentenced to a week in prison. Mansell was sent to

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, ...

for a week after an action where she broke windows at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, London. Mansel was put in charge of coordinating the movement of women between safe houses from 1913, to shelter them after being released from prison under 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 ...

." Due to her familial connection with Ivor Guest she was considered "untouchable". As part of this role, she rented a flat in London for Grace Roe. Also during 1913, Mansel visited her friend

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed Suffragette bombing and arson ca ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. In 1914, Mansel said to a group of suffrage supporters: “Something has been said about our Union being “underground. Does this meeting look as though we were underground? We are underground, and overground, and everywhere.

Later life

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, both of her daughters became nurses. Mansel attended a reunion dinner on 11 February 1928 to celebrate Equal Franchise, which was also attended by

Nina Boyle Constance Antonina Boyle (21 December 1865 – 4 March 1943) was a British journalist, campaigner for women's suffrage and women's rights, charity and welfare worker, and novelist. She was one of the pioneers of women police officers in Britain. ...

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 ...

Edith How-Martyn Edith How-Martyn (''née'' How; 17 June 1875 – 2 February 1954) was a British suffragette and a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She was arrested in 1906 for attempting to make a speech in the House of Commons of the Un ...

, Muriel Matters, Anna Munro, Emmeline Pethwick-Lawrence and Daisy Solomon. When Emmeline Pankhurst died on 14 June 1928, Mansel was one of her pallbearers, alongside other former suffragettes Georgiana Brackenbury,

Marion Wallace Dunlop Marion Wallace Dunlop (22 December 1864 – 12 September 1942) was a Scottish artist, author and illustrator of children's books, and suffragette. She was the first and one of the most well known British suffrage activists to go on hunger stri ...

, Harriet Kerr, Kitty Marshall, Rosamund Massy, Marie Naylor, Ada Wright and

Barbara Wylie Barbara Fanny Wylie (11 September 1861–1954) was a British suffragette. In 1909 she joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and in 1910 she joined the Glasgow branch of WSPU as an activist and organizer. Wylie is best known for del ...

. Mansel founded the Mid Somerset Musical Competitive Festival in 1934. She died in 1942 in

Binsted Binsted is a village and large civil parish in East Hampshire, England. It is about east of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, its nearest town. The parish is one of the largest in northern Hampshire and covers almost . It contains two villages, Bucks ...

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

References

External links

Postcard with a portrait of Mansell holding a copy of the WSPU newspaper ''Votes for Women''
at the London Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansell, Mildred 1868 births 1942 deaths British suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union People from Roehampton Eagle House suffragettes