The Ludlow Post Office Suffragette and her Shrewsbury Trial
Last week (August 2018) a group of women entertained Shrewsbury townsfolk by dressing up as suffragettes, as part of the Shrewsbury celebrations of the Centenary of the Suffragette Movement.But, who were the LOCAL suffraggetes?
According to 'The Postal Museum': visit postalmuseum.org one local suffragette was Elsie Rachel Helsby of Shrewsbury.
She became a notorious suffragette, as follows:
At about 3am on 28 June 1912 a woman broke the windows at Ludlow Post Office, causing approximately £5 worth of damage.
The pleasant-faced lady in question gave her name as Elsie Rachel Helsby of Shrewsbury.
She was granted bail but refused it, and she was remanded in Shrewsbury Prison.
In her defence at the trial Miss Helsby stated that she had been motivated to break the windows because of the treatment of women at Holloway and other prisons, and "in defence of poorly paid women and unhealthy and over-worked children".
A newspaper report details that Miss Helsby smashed the windows with a hammer to which was attached two labels, one reading "Votes for Women", the other a protest against the force-feeding of suffrage campaigners on hunger strike.
The magistrates decided that Miss Helsby could either be fined for costs and damages or sentenced to 28 days hard labour.
Miss Helsby elected for the hard labour and was sent back to Shrewsbury prison.
Bayston Hill's Suffragette!
DO YOU KNOW of any others, or more about these two?
Please tell us. Comment!
Images are for illustration only: No pictures exist of Miss Helsby.
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More About Suffragette Elsie Helsby
Elsie Helsby is listed in the following roll of honour:
Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners 1905-1914
Description: Pamphlet containing an alphabetical list of Suffragette Prisoners [no publishing details available]. The entries have been copied out as indicated below [The list does not contain any additional details].
Please note that this list of prisoners was compiled by the Suffragette Fellowship, c. 1950, based on the recollections of former suffragettes. As such it is not a comprehensive source.
Broken windows theory: Why suffragettes attacked the Post Office
In the early 20th Century the state-owned GPO was one of the largest businesses and employers in the world. It controlled the mail, telegraph and telephone services throughout the United Kingdom, and was vital to everyday life. With a post office branch a feature of almost every high street in the country it was one of the most visible signs of government and authority, and was thus an ideal target for suffrage campaigners. The First World War interrupted the suffrage campaign, and it would not be until 1928 that women in the United Kingdom had the same voting rights as men. – Alison Bean, Web Officer
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