Annie Kenney – Women’s Fight for the Vote
Annie KenneyAnnie Kenney was born near Oldham on 13 September 1879. She was the fifth of eleven children, and started work in a local cotton mill at the age of ten. A ‘character sketch’ by Frederick Pethick Lawrence published in 19071 says, ‘At ten years old she went to work as a half-timer [morning working in the mill, afternoons at school], and became a “little tenter” [crawling on her hands and knees under the machine sweeping the cotton while the machine was running]; at thirteen, a full-timer, and after four years was promoted to the position of “big tenter”, having charge of a pair of frames and having one-third share of the services of a “little tenter” to assist her…Miss Kenney conducted a regular literary campaign among her workmates. Not merely were the Socialist newspapers introduced each week and handed assiduously from girl to girl, but more permanent works of poetry and literature and art were eagerly sought after and obtained’.
Annie’s sister Jessie remembers going with Annie and another sister, Jane, to a meeting in Oldham in 1905 where Christabel Pankhurst spoke about women’s suffrage. ‘Christabel said afterwards that three girls with shining eyes came up to her when she had spoken, and those three girls were us. Annie promised to work up a meeting for her. She got together all the factory girls and the meeting was a great success’2. Annie’s own memory of that first meeting she organised was rather different – ‘It was a stroke of good fortune that the choir turned up, as they were the only audience we had to address, save [schoolfriend] Alice Hurst and another friend! There was no living interest in the question’3. However that first meeting went, Annie was soon organising and speaking at many different meetings in the area, and became a firm friend of Christabel Pankhurst who wrote of her thus: ‘Evening by evening, after her day’s work, and on Saturday afternoons, she would take train to Manchester, make for our house and join in whatever work needed doing for the cause’4.
Annie joined the recently-formed Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). She and Christabel Pankhurst attended a Liberal rally at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 13 October 1905, to ask of Winston Churchill and Sir Edward Grey ‘If you are elected, will you do your best to make women’s suffrage a government measure?’ When they received no reply, they unfurled a banner with the slogan ‘Votes for women’ - and were thrown out of the meeting. In the ensuing struggle, a policeman claimed the women had kicked and spat at him. They were arrested and charged with assault.
The court case was reported in detail in the Manchester Guardian of 16 October 1905. A flavour is given in the following quotes:
‘Arising out of the scenes towards the close of the Liberal meeting held on Friday night in the Free-Trade Hall, Miss Christabel Pankhurst, of Manchester, and Miss Annie Kenny, the latter an Oldham lady, appeared as defendants at the Manchester Police Court, on Saturday, charged with assaulting the police and also causing an obstruction in South-street…
…[From the police evidence] They put questions to certain of the speakers on a subject in which they were interested, and in order to emphasise them, one or both mounted the seats they had occupied, "and yelled and shrieked to the utmost of their ability"…
…If the evidence was to be believed, the defendants' behaviour was such as one was accustomed to attribute to women from the slums…
...[Annie Kenney, speaking in her own defence, said that] a large crowd assembled, and, she admitted, blocked the street; but so long as they were to receive such treatment she, as representing thousands of factory women, who had no votes, would be compelled to make the same kind of protest…
…The magistrates then retired to consider their decision. Whilst they were outside a white flag, said to have been exhibited in the Free-trade Hall, and bearing the legend "Votes for women" in large letters, was produced and the ladies hung it on the dock rail. It was, however, removed before the magistrates returned and announced their decision, which was that for assaulting the police Miss Pankhurst must pay a fine of 10s.6d. and costs, or seven days, and for causing an obstruction in South-street each of the defendants must pay a fine of 5s., or three days.
The Clerk: Have you any goods which may be distrained upon? Both ladies answered in the negative [Christabel Pankhurst was aware of the value of the publicity of the two women being imprisoned, rather than simply paying a fine]. They were taken below. A little later they were taken in a cab to Strangeways Gaol’.
