Minnie Turner (6 May 1866 – 1948) was a British suffragette who was known for running a guest house, the "Sea View", in Brighton. In November 1911 she was arrested for breaking a window in the Home Office for which she received a 21 day sentence

Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a 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, until its closure in 2016. His ...

Life

Turner was born Minnie Sarah Turner on 6 May 1866 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She ran a guest house in Brighton, the "Sea View", which served as a vacation spot, but also a haven for British suffragettes who had been imprisoned for the suffrage cause, many who were recovering from

force-feeding Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into ...

. Her boarders included

Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 2 May 1923), usually known as Constance Lytton, was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control. ...

Mary Jane Clarke Mary Jane Clarke (''née'' Goulden; 1862– 1910), was a British suffragette. She died on Christmas Day 1910 two days after being released from prison where she had been force fed. She was described in her obituary by Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence ...

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant fighte ...

Flora Drummond Flora McKinnon Drummond (née Gibson) (born 4 August 1878, Manchester – died 17 January 1949, Carradale), was a British suffragette. Nicknamed 'The General' for her habit of leading Women's Rights marches wearing a military style uniform 'wit ...

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 Minni ...

, Mary Naylor,

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 its militant actions from exil ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

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

Vera Wentworth Vera Wentworth (born Jessie Alice Spink; 1890 – 1957) was a British suffragette, who notably door-stepped and then assaulted the Prime Minister on two occasions. She was incarcerated for the cause and was force fed, after which she wrote "Three ...

, and

Ada Wright Ada Cecile Granville Wright (c. 1862–1939) was an English suffragette. Her photo on the front page of the ''Daily Mirror'' on 19 November became an iconic image of the suffrage movement. Biography Ada Cecile Granville Wright was born in ...

. Turner had hosted

Minnie Baldock Lucy Minnie Baldock (née Rogers; 20 November 1864''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 10 December 1954)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British suffragette. ...

, and paid the travel costs for her to support the local efforts of Mary Clarke in campaigning during the summer. Turner was arrested twice for her involvement in suffragette protests. In 1910 she was arrested for demonstrating outside the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on Black Friday. In November 1911 she was arrested for breaking a window in the Home Office for which she received a 21 day sentence Holloway Prison. Turner was 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, they went on hunger strike while serving ...

'for Valour' by WSPU. Turner's own windows were threatened in retaliation in an anonymous postcard, from 'WHAT HO ALF', and one or two were indeed broken. Turner put a note in the windows affected saying ''Masculine logic. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." In 1912,

recuperated from her prison experience with Turner until she was able to travel to Northumberland to see her mother. Turner was a member of the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...

(NUWSS) 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 from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

(WSPU) 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 move ...

(WTRL). She also served as honorary secretary of the Women's Liberal Association in Brighton. Turner died in 1948.

Legacy

In 2018 a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

honoring Turner was unveiled at the site of the "Sea View" at 13 Victoria Road, Brighton. Her "

Holloway brooch The Holloway brooch was presented by the Women's Social and Political Union (WPSU) to women who had been imprisoned at Holloway Prison for militant suffragette activity. It is also referred to as the "Portcullis badge", the "Holloway Prison brooc ...

" was included in the Brighton Museum's ''100 years since the Representation of the People Act, 1918-2018'' exhibition. Turner 's collection of suffragette postcards in the Museum of London gives an insight into her supportive role to women activists during their difficult situations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Minnie 1866 births 1948 deaths Women's Social and Political Union

Life

Legacy

See also

References