Annot Robinson, nicknamed Annie, (née Wilkie; 8 June 1874 – 29 September 1925) was a Scottish
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 ...
and
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
.
She was sentenced to six months for trying to break in to the House of Commons. She helped to found the
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determi ...
.
Early life
Born Annot Erskine Wilkie on 8 June 1874 in
Montrose, Scotland, to John Wilkie (a draper) and Catherine Jane Erskine (a teacher).
Wilkie was one of three daughters. Her sister, Helen Wilkie, later became Secretary of the
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
branch of the
Women’s Freedom League. Helen was a "gifted orator"
who organised women for a
Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) march in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1907 and was part of the deputation who met with
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
in 1909.
Wilkie was a pupil teacher at
Montrose Academy
Montrose Academy is a coeducational secondary school in Montrose Angus. The School now teaches people from ages 11–18.
It became a comprehensive school in the mid-fifties and was one of a pair of Scottish schools which formed a country-wide t ...
until she was 16. She then went on to teacher training college, before taking external classes in English, French, Astronomy, Comparative Religion and History at the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
, where she was awarded the LLA in 1901.
Campaigning for women's suffrage
Wilkie worked as a teacher in Dundee and it was while she was working here that she was influenced by
Agnes Husband
Agnes Husband (20 May 1852 – 30 April 1929) was one of Dundee's first female councillors and was a suffragette. She was awarded Freedom of the City at the age of 74 and has a plaque to her memory in the Dundee City Chambers and a portrait by ...
(a member of the Dundee Labour Party.)
In 1906 she became the first secretary of the
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
branch of the
Women’s Social and Political Union.
In 1907 she moved to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and became an organizer for the Women’s Social and Political Union, as well as joining the local branch of 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 Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
, which she had become a member of the year before.
In 1908 she and other members of the Women’s Social and Political Union tried to break into the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...
after arriving hidden in a furniture van, for which she was sentenced to six months in prison.
In 1910 she became an organizer for the
Women's Labour League
The Women's Labour League (WLL) was a pressure organisation, founded in London in 1906, to promote the political representation of women in parliament and local bodies. The idea was first suggested by Mary Macpherson, a linguist and journalist wh ...
and offered a conference resolution condemning the leadership of the
Labour Party for failing to support the Women’s Labour League and women's suffrage.
She later became an organizer for 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 ...
, but during
the war she resigned from that, helped found the
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determi ...
, organized Women's Peace Crusades throughout the nation, and worked for equal pay for female
munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
factory workers.
After the war she worked as a Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom organizer until 1922, and as such traveled to America, Britain, and Holland.
Death
She died in
Perth Royal Infirmary
Perth Royal Infirmary is a district hospital in Perth. The Royal Infirmary serves a population of around 182,000 across the City of Perth and the wider Perth and Kinross area. It is managed by NHS Tayside.
History
Perth Royal infirmary has it ...
during an operation, and
Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her career, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow, s ...
wrote her obituary.
Wilkinson described her as "a big woman and a big personality" with "an exquisite sense of the ridiculous and a sharp tongue."
Posthumous recognition
Her name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') 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 c ...
of the
statue of Millicent Fawcett
The statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, honours the British suffragist leader and social campaigner Dame Millicent Fawcett. It was made in 2018 by Gillian Wearing. Following a campaign and petition by the activist Caroline C ...
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. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...
, London, unveiled in 2018.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Annot
1874 births
1925 deaths
Scottish pacifists
Scottish schoolteachers
Scottish suffragists
Independent Labour Party
19th-century Scottish women
20th-century Scottish women
Scottish suffragettes
Women's Social and Political Union
Suffragettes
Equality rights
Women's Freedom League
History of women's rights
University of St Andrews
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom