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 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 and ...

(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 ...

(a member of the Dundee Labour Party.) In 1906 she became the first secretary of the

branch of the

. 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, 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 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

, organized Women's Peace Crusades throughout the nation, and worked for equal pay for female munitions 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 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 of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, 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