Lucy Minnie Baldock (née Rogers; 20 November 1864 – 10 December 1954) 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 ...

. Along 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 ...

, she co-founded the first branch in London 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 ...

(WSPU).

Life and activism

Lucy Minnie Rogers was born in

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

in 1864. She worked in sweated labour shirt factory and married Harry Baldock in 1888, and they had two children. The East End of London was known for its poor conditions and the Baldocks joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP) after the socialist

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

became their local Member of Parliament (M.P.) in 1892. She worked 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

Dora Montefiore Dorothy Frances Montefiore (; 20 December 1851 – 21 December 1933), known as Dora Montefiore, was an English-Australian women's suffragist, socialist, poet, and autobiographer active in Britain. Early life Born Dorothy Frances Fuller at Ke ...

. She took charge of the local unemployment fund that was used to mitigate extreme hardship. Women were not then allowed to be Members of Parliament, but the ILP chose her as their candidate to sit on the West Ham Board of Guardians in 1905. left, Baldock, left, handing out suffragettes leaflets in Nottingham in 1907 Baldock and

formed the first London branch (although it was in

Canning Town Canning Town is a town in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, north of the Royal Victoria Dock. Its urbanisation was largely due to the creation of the dock. The area was part of the ancient parish and County Borough of West Ham, ...

, then in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

) of the then Manchester based

in 1906, holding meetings at Canning Town Public Hall. Baldock attended 21 December 1905 pre-election meeting of the Liberals at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

dressed as a 'maid' to Annie Kenney (who wore a fur coat) and both sat in a box and Kenney hung a banner over the edge saying 'Votes for Women' and called out, resulting in a disturbance. The next day Baldock visited Sir

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. ...

with Kenney and Teresa Billington to ask about when Liberals would deal with female suffrage, resulting in

congratulating Baldock's 'noble stand' in a postcard. Baldock became a paid employee of the WSPU and a mentor to Daisy Parsons, and had a postal order for 30 shillings from

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence (; 21 October 1867 – 11 March 1954) was a British women's rights activist, suffragist and pacifist. Early life Pethick-Lawrence was born in 1867 in Clifton, Bristol as Emmeline Pethick. He ...

to cover the costs of attending meetings in

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part ...

, Derbyshire. Speakers invited to address the Canning Town group included Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence,

and

Flora Drummond Flora McKinnon Drummond (née Gibson; 4 August 1878 – 17 January 1949) was a British suffragette. Nicknamed 'The General' for her habit of leading women's rights marches wearing a military style uniform 'with an officers cap and epaulettes'Sy ...

. Baldock also organised and spoke at an open air meeting in Upton Park. Baldock was arrested on 23 October 1906 (along with

Nellie Martel Ellen Alma Martel, (; 30 September 1855 – 11 August 1940) was an English-Australian Women's suffrage, suffragist and elocutionist. She stood for the Australian Senate, Senate at the 1903 Australian federal election, 1903 federal election, ...

and Anne Cobden Sanderson) for disorderly conduct during the opening of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In 1907, she reported to the group on her visit to

Jane Sbarborough Jane Sbarborough also known as Sbarabara (1842 — 1925), was born in Canada East but is recognized as a British suffragette. She, along with Annie Kenney and Adelaide Knight, was part of the "Canning Town Three", as dubbed by the press. Sbarbo ...

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, ...

when she heard about signalling between suffragettes, imprisoned at the same time, but not allowed to talk to each other. Baldock was also at the prison gate with

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 ...

to support Flora Drummond and others released to have a celebratory hotel breakfast. She also spoke in June 1907 at a

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

home event at the request of

Louise Eates Louise Mary Eates (née Peters; 1877–1944) was a British suffragette, chair of Kensington Women's Social and Political Union and a women's education activist. Life Louise Mary Peters was born in Richmond, Yorkshire in 1877. She was educa ...

, Kensington WSPU and in August at a home in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

with

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 noted by Sara Jessie Stephenson in her pamphlet ''No Other Way''. In November 1907, Baldock was recording being ejected from a Liberal MP's event on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

but stood on a chair outside a window calling out "Votes for Women". In summer 1908 she was in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

with

Elsa Gye Elsa Gye (1881–1943) was a music student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Guildhall who became a suffragette and involved in disruptive events in London and Scotland and was imprisoned for the cause of women's suffrage. She married th ...

to build up its WSPU. In April 1909 she was with around 500 suffragettes at breakfast in Picadiily for Mrs Pethick-Lawrence's release from custody.

Arrest

Minnie Baldock Christabel Pankhurst and Edith New

Baldock was with twelve women who were arrested after walking single file through the streets towards 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 ...

with Mrs. Pankhurst in February 1908 "to present a petition from the Conference 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 ...

, and to the refusal of the authorities to treat suffragist offenders as first-class misdemeanants." Baldock was arrested along with Mrs Pankhurst and others and was charged with resisting and obstructing the police. Baldock had to leave her two boys with their father whilst she served a month in jail and her fellow suffragettes assisted, including Maud Arncliff Sennett sending toys. Baldock got out a message published in ''Votes for Women in 1908,'' that

"I love freedom so dearly that I want all women to have it, and I will fight for it until they get it"

In April that year, Emily Cobb, WSPU, offered to sponsor the cost of a house help so that Baldock could be 'set free to do work you ''can'' do for the Causeand many of us can not', and in May Baldock was with Annie Kenney in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, renting a house near the venue

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 1850 – 20 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for ...

Liberal MP and Irish secretary of state, was to be speaking at, to help

Elsie Howey Rose Elsie Neville Howey (1 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), known as Elsie Howey, was an English suffragette. She was a militant activist with the Women's Social and Political Union and was jailed at least six times between 1908 and 1912. Ear ...

and

Vera Holme Vera Louise Holme, also known as Jack Holme (29 August 1881 – 1 January 1969), was a British actress and a suffragette. Born in Lancashire, she began working as a touring male impersonator when her parents could no longer support her. A tale ...

who hid overnight in the Hall to get into the event. In October 1909, Baldock was arrested again with Flora Drummond and the Pankhursts back at Clement's Inn. As a suffragette who had been to jail she was given the honour of planting a commemorative tree at Eagle House in Somerset in February 1909. The house was the home of

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 ...

's parents who supported the cause. Her father took commemorative photographs and afterwards he sent her flower plants in the following April for her garden. The following year, Baldock spoke on

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Co ...

, and had her travel paid by Minnie Turner, to support Mary Clarke campaigning in Brighton for a week in the summer. In 1911, she was one of the suffragettes who boycotted the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

. Later in 1911, Baldock was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and underwent surgery performed by

Louisa Aldrich-Blake Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake (15 August 1865 – 28 December 1925) was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine. Born in Chingford, Essex, she was the eldest daughter of a curate. L ...

. Baldock recovered but broke contact with the increasingly militant WSPU. She did keep in contact with

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 ...

and she was still 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 ...

. At the start of 1913 she and her family had to move to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

for her sons to seek work in shipyards, although she and husband were also reported to be in Southampton in 1914. Baldock took part in

's funeral, carrying the purple white and green colours (1928) and attended her statue unveiling in 1930. Baldock also supported

in documenting the movement in the Suffragette Fellowship. She died at age 90 in

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

in 1954.

Posthumous recognition

Baldock’s name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...

, London, unveiled in 2018. In 2011,

Poole Museum Poole Museum (formerly known as the Waterfront Museum) is a currently closed local history museum situated on the Lower High Street in the Old Town area of Poole, Dorset, and is part of the Borough of Poole Museum Service. Entrance to Poole Muse ...

and the

National Lottery National Lottery may refer to: *National Lottery (Ireland), the state lottery of Ireland *National Lottery (United Kingdom), the lottery franchise in the United Kingdom *South African National Lottery, established in 2000 *A number of countries con ...

funds sponsored a short film on Baldock's life called ''The Right to Vote'' by Kate O'Malley starring Michelle O'Brien.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldock, Minnie British socialist feminists 1864 births 1954 deaths Suffragists from London Eagle House suffragettes People from Bromley-by-Bow Women's Social and Political Union

Life and activism

Arrest

Posthumous recognition

See also

References

External links