Theodora Ellen Bonwick (27 December 1876 – 10 November 1928) was a British headteacher, trade unionist, educationist and

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 ...

Life

Bonwick was born in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

in London in 1876. Her family had returned from Australia as Bonwick's three elder siblings were born there. Her parents were Sarah (born Beddow) and schoolteacher William Priessnitz Bonwick. Her mother was a suffragist and she had been active in the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of f ...

. Her parents worked together for the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

and at a Sunday school. Bonwick trained as a teacher at

Stockwell College of Education Stockwell College of Education was a teacher-training college based in South London, England. It was located in Stockwell, South London from 1860 to 1935 and then relocated to the grounds of Bromley Palace, Bromley until its closure in 1980. ...

, where she obtained a BA degree. Reports recorded her ability for teaching and she received a teacher's certificate. At the age of seventeen Bonwick fave her first speech on women’s suffrage. In 1905 she joined the militant

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) and became a

. When

Women's Sunday Women's Sunday was a suffragette march and rally held in London on 21 June 1908. Organised by Emmeline Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) to persuade the Liberal government, 1905–1915, Liberal government to support Women's s ...

was organised in 1908 with women marching to Hyde Park it attracted 300,000 spectators. Bonwick was one of the speakers. Bowick became the secretary of the Hornsey branch of the WSPU. She tried to intercede in the dispute that had broken out in the suffragette leadership between

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Emmeline was out of the country and Christabel was telling her younger sister that there was no room for dispute within the WSPU. Bonwick wrote a long letter to Christabel and another to Sylvia asking her to "lie low" as the public should not see more internal conflict in the WSPU. Sylvia was ejected from the WSPU for her socialist and democratic views and Borwick became the president of the Women Teachers' Franchise Union (WTFU) in 1914. She worked at Enfield Road School for Girls in Hackney and before 1914 she was the headteacher there. She achieved a first when she obtained permission from the parents of the school to deliver

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

to her classes. No other school in London was doing this and when a 1914 enquiry considered this it was rejected – because the teachers would find it difficult. After the war she was head of York Way Girls' School in King's Cross. She again was radical in following the

Dalton Plan The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst. It is inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 20th century. Educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey influenced Parkhurst while she created ...

and she also opposed competitive sports. School inspectors noted that she was a good head but they disagreed with her views.

Death and legacy

Bonwick died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1928, the year that all adults in Britain gained the right to vote. The NUWT (National Union of Women Teachers) established a Memorial Fund in her name. The fund provided grants for London children for school journeys up until the 1950s. In 1990 Bonwick was chosen with three others,

Agnes Dawson Agnes Dawson (7 March 1873 – 20 April 1953) was a British people, British politician and Trade union, trade unionist. Life Dawson was born in Peckham, she became a pupil-teacher in Camberwell before qualifying as a teacher at Saffron Walde ...

Emily Phipps Emily Frost Phipps (7 November 1865 – 3 May 1943) was an English teacher and suffragette, a barrister in later life, and an influential figure in the National Union of Women Teachers. Early life The eldest of five siblings, Mary was born t ...

and Ethel Froud, to be featured in

Hilda Kean Hilda Kean (born August 1949) is a British historian who specialises in public and cultural history, and in particular the cultural history of animals. She is former Dean and Director of Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, and an Honorary ...

's book, 'Deeds Not Words: The Lives of Suffragette Teachers'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonwick, Theodora 1876 births 1928 deaths Heads of schools in London British suffragettes Trade unionists from London Suffragists from London