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Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class
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 socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the
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 ...
. She co-founded its first branch in London with
Minnie Baldock Lucy Minnie Baldock (née Rogers; 20 November 1864''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 10 December 1954)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British suffragette. ...
. Kenney attracted the attention of the
press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...
and public in 1905 when she and
Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...
were imprisoned for several days for
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
and
obstruction Obstruction may refer to: Places * Obstruction Island, in Washington state * Obstruction Islands, east of New Guinea Medicine * Obstructive jaundice * Obstructive sleep apnea * Airway obstruction, a respiratory problem ** Recurrent airway o ...
related to the questioning of
Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adhe ...
at a
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
rally in
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 ...
on the issue of votes for women. The incident is credited with inaugurating a new phase in the struggle for women's suffrage in the UK with the adoption of
militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
tactics. Annie had friendships with
Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence (; 21 October 1867 – 11 March 1954) was a British women's rights activist and suffragette. Early life Pethick-Lawrence was born in Bristol as Emmeline Pethick. Her father, Henry Pethick, w ...
,
Mary Blathwayt Mary Blathwayt (1 February 1879 – 25 June 1961) was a British feminist, suffragette and social reformer. She lived at Eagle House in Somerset. This house became known as the "Suffragette's Rest" and contained a memorial to the protests o ...
,
Clara Codd Clara Margaret Codd (10 October 1876 – 3 April 1971) was a British writer, suffragette, socialist feminist, and theosophist. She went to jail for the suffragettes and then devoted her life to the Theosophical Society. Life Codd was born in ...
,
Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the WSPU in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she continued her activism and was co-found ...
, and Christabel Pankhurst.


Early life

Kenney was born in 1879 in Springhead, West Riding of Yorkshire., to Horatio Nelson Kenney (1849–1912) and Anne Wood (1852–1905). She was the fourth daughter in a family of twelve children, eleven of whom survived infancy, There were six other sisters: Sarah (Nell), Alice, Caroline (Kitty), Jane (Jenny), and Jessie. Their parents encouraged reading, debating, and socialism. Three of the sisters became teachers, and a brother became a businessman. A brother,
Rowland Kenney Rowland Kenney (1882-1961) was a British diplomat, propagandist, author and editor. During World War I and World War II, Kenney directed British propaganda in Norway and Scandinavia. Kenney was born on 28 December 1882 in Shelderslow, Saddlewort ...
, became the first editor (in 1912) of the ''Daily Herald.'' Annie started part-time work in a
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...
at the age of 10, while also attending school. She began full-time work at 13, which involved 12-hour shifts from six in the morning. Employed as a weaver's assistant, or "tenter", part of her job was to fit the
bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...
s and attend to the strands of thread when they broke; during one such operation, one of her fingers was ripped off by a spinning bobbin. She remained at the mill for 15 years, was involved in trade-union activities, furthered her education through self-study and—inspired by
Robert Blatchford Robert Peel Glanville Blatchford (17 March 1851 – 17 December 1943) was an English socialist campaigner, journalist, and author in the United Kingdom. He was also noted as a prominent atheist, nationalist and opponent of eugenics. In the early ...
's publication, '' The Clarion''—promoted the study of literature among her work colleagues. She was a regular church attenderAnnie Kenney, Marie M. Roberts, Tamae Mizuta. ''A Militant'' (Routledge, 1994) Intro. and sang in a local choir. When her mother died in 1905, Kenney and six siblings remained with her father at 71 Redgrave Street, Oldham.


Activism

Kenney became actively involved in the
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) after the premature death of her mother Ann at the age of fifty-three in January 1905, when she and her sister Jessie heard
Teresa Billington-Greig Teresa Billington-Greig (15 October 1876 – 21 October 1964) was a British suffragette who helped create the Women's Freedom League in 1907. She had left another suffrage organisation – the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) – as s ...
and Christabel Pankhurst speak at the Oldham socialist Clarion Vocal Club in 1905. Kenney described Billington's message delivered as 'a sledgehammer of cold logic and reason' but that she liked Christabel, and was invited to meet her mother (
Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
) a week later, anticipating this made Kenney feel that she 'lived on air;.. simply could not eat... instinctively felt a great change had come'. This resulted in weekly visits on her half-day off to be trained in public speaking and to collect leaflets on women's suffrage. Kenney and her sister Jessie handed these out to women working in the mills in Oldham. Kenney found herself explaining labour rights, unemployment and for giving women the right to vote, to a large Manchester crowd. During a Liberal rally at the
Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. T ...
, Manchester, in October 1905, Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst interrupted a political meeting attended by
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 ...
and
Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adhe ...
to shout: "Will the Liberal government give votes to women?" After unfurling a banner declaring "Votes for Women" and shouting, they were thrown out of the meeting and arrested for causing an obstruction; Pankhurst was taken into custody for a technical assault on a police officer after she spat at him to provoke an arrest (although she wrote later that it was a dry spit, more of a "pout"). Kenney was imprisoned for three days for her part in the protest; she was jailed 13 times in total.
Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
wrote in her autobiography that "this was the beginning of a campaign the like of which was never known in England, or for that matter in any other country... we interrupted a great many meetings... and we were violently thrown out and insulted. Often we were painfully bruised and hurt..." Kenney and
Minnie Baldock Lucy Minnie Baldock (née Rogers; 20 November 1864''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 10 December 1954)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British suffragette. ...
formed the first London branch of the WPSU in Canning Town in 1906, holding meetings at Canning Town Public Hall. In June that year Kenney,
Adelaide Knight Adelaide Knight, also known as Eliza Adelaide Knight, (1871–1950), was a British suffragette. Biography Born in Tower Hamlets in 1871, Eliza Adelaide ("Addy") Knight was a frail child, born with deformed thumbs, who had two accidents in ch ...
, and Mrs Sbarborough were arrested when they tried to obtain an audience with
H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
, then
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
. Offered the choice of six weeks in prison or giving up campaigning for one year, Kenney chose prison, as did the others. Kenney was invited to speak to working women's gatherings across the country throughout the campaign, including campaigning for a week in Liverpool at street meetings organised by
Patricia Woodlock Patricia Woodlock (born Mary Winifred Woodlock; 25 October 1873 – after 1930) was a British artist and suffragette who was imprisoned seven times, including serving the longest suffragette prison sentence in 1908 (solitary confinement for th ...
and
Alice Morrissey Alice Morrissey (''died in'' 1912) was a British Catholic, socialist leader and suffragette activist from Liverpool, who was imprisoned in the campaign for women's right to vote. Life Born with a brother who became a Catholic priest. Morrissey ...
. Kenney became part of the senior hierarchy of the WSPU, becoming its deputy in 1912. In 1913 she and
Flora Drummond Flora McKinnon Drummond (née Gibson) (born 4 August 1878, Manchester – died 17 January 1949, Carradale), was a British suffragette. Nicknamed 'The General' for her habit of leading Women's Rights marches wearing a military style uniform 'wi ...
arranged for WSPU representatives to speak with leading politicians
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
and Sir Edward Grey. The meeting had been arranged with the proviso that these were working-class women representing their class. They explained the terrible pay and working conditions that they suffered and the hope that a vote would enable women to challenge the status quo in a democratic manner.
Alice Hawkins Alice Hawkins ( Stafford, 1863 – Leicester, 1946) was a leading English suffragette among the boot and shoe machinists of Leicester. She went to prison five times for acts committed as part of the Women’s Social and Political Union milit ...
from Leicester explained how her fellow male workers could choose a man to represent them while the women were left unrepresented. Kenney, who was involved in other militant acts and underwent force-feeding many times, was always determined to confront the authorities and highlight the injustice of the
Cat and Mouse Act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political ...
: a suffragette nickname for the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913 which allowed prisoners who were ill (especially from hunger strike or force feeding), to be released on licence for a period, until well enough to be returned to prison to complete their sentence. Supporters, including
Agnes Harben Agnes Helen Harben (née Bostock; 15 September 1879 – 29 October 1961) was a British Women's suffrage, suffragist leader who also supported the militant suffragette hunger strikers, and was a founder of the United Suffragists. Family and lif ...
and her husband, would offer Kenney and others to recuperate at their country house, Newlands,
Chalfont St. Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe ...
. On one occasion in January 1914 when she had just been released from prison and was very weak, ''The Times'' reported that at a meeting in Knightsbridge Town Hall chaired by
Norah Dacre Fox Norah Elam, also known as Norah Dacre Fox (née Norah Doherty, 1878–1961), was a militant suffragette, anti-vivisectionist, feminist and fascist in the United Kingdom. Born at 13 Waltham Terrace in Dublin to John Doherty, a partner in a pape ...
, the WSPU general secretary:
Miss Kenney was conveyed to the meeting in a horse ambulance; and she was borne into the meeting on a stretcher, which was raised to the platform and placed on two chairs. She raised her right hand and fluttered a handkerchief and, covered with blankets, lay motionless watching the audience. Later, her licence under the "Cat and Mouse" Act was offered for sale. Mrs Dacre Fox stated that an offer of £15 had already been received for it, and the next was one of £20, then £25 was bid, and at this price it was sold. Soon afterwards Miss Kenney was taken back to the ambulance. Detectives were present, but no attempt was made to rearrest Miss Kenney, whose licence had expired.
Kenney had been given a
Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on hunger strike while serving th ...
'for Valour' by WSPU. At the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914, Emmeline Pankhurst called an end to suffragette militancy and urged the women to become actively involved in war work by taking on jobs that had traditionally been regarded as in the male preserve, as most of those men were now absent at the front. This was set in train through the pages of ''The Suffragette'', relaunched on 16 April 1915 with the slogan that it was 'a thousand times more the duty of the militant Suffragettes to fight the
Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
for the sake of liberty than it was to fight anti-Suffrage Governments'. In autumn 1915 Kenney accompanied Emmeline Pankhurst, Flora Drummond, Norah Dacre Fox and
Grace Roe Eleanor Grace Watney Roe (1885–1979) was Head of Suffragette operations for the Women's Social and Political Union. She was released from prison after the outbreak of World War I due to an amnesty for suffragettes negotiated with the governme ...
to
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
and
Clydeside Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...
on a recruiting and lecture tour to encourage trade unions to support war work. Kenney took her message as far afield as France and the United States. In August 1921, Kenney began publishing her '''Revelations and so-called 'secrets of suffragettes' in a series of twelve articles in the popular weekly Scottish paper, ''
The Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...
,'' among the news, human interest stories and short features. The series began with a potted history of her life as a 'factory girl' (from the age of ten, part-time and from thirteen, full time); how she joined the socialist Clarion choir and thus came to hear Christabel Pankhurst speak and a week later was a guest at the Pankhursts' Manchester home. She goes on to describe how she felt about suddenly speaking in public and to crowds of fellow factory workers and learning to handle the hecklers. In other episodes in the series, Kenney gave dramatic first person accounts of the events (and people she met) during her suffrage activism, including some of those described above. In the final article in November that year, her last story described meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury ( Randall Davidson) in
Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
in 1914, claiming '
sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
' until women were given the vote (which he recognised could be years); she elaborates on the various attempts to make her leave, her arrest, going on a 7-day hunger strike, her release to recover and her return to sit on the doorstep, only to be taken off in an ambulance to the workhouse infirmary.


Personal life

Annie had many close friendships with women in the Suffragette Movement. Christabel Pankhurst and Kenney were allegedly lovers. The two went on holiday to
Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...
together and some sources suggest the relationship was platonic rather than romantic. Kenney was a family friend of the Blathwayts. She was a frequent visitor to the their home, Eagle House, and unlike everyone else she planted four trees. The Blathwayts paid for presents and watches, and paid medical and dentistry bills for her and her sisters. Mary Blathwayt made notes in her diary of the women Kenney slept with when she stayed at Eagle House. Blathwayt's romantic jealousy has been proposed as a reason. She noted ten alleged short-lived lovers. According to Mary, she shared beds with herself, Clara Codd and Adela Pankhurst. After women over age 30 won the vote in 1918 Kenney married James Taylor (1893–1977) and settled in
Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...
, Hertfordshire. A son, Warwick Kenney Taylor, was born in 1921. After a stroke she died on 9 July 1953, aged 73, in Lister Hospital,
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...
. Her funeral was conducted according to the rites of AMORC and her ashes were scattered by her family on
Saddleworth Moor Saddleworth Moor is a moorland in North West England. Reaching more than above sea level, it is in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. It is crossed by the A635 road and the Pennine Way passes to its eastern side. Geography ...
.


Posthumous recognition

In 1999,
Oldham Council Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, branded and commonly referred to as Oldham Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Man ...
erected a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in her honour at Lees Brook Mill in Lees, near Oldham, where Kenney had started work in 1892. On 14 December 2018 a statue, funded by public subscription, was unveiled in front of the
Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...
in Oldham. Her name and image (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are etched 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, that was unveiled in 2018.


See also

*
Gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
*
Suffragette bombing and arson campaign Suffragettes in Great Britain and Ireland orchestrated a bombing and arson campaign between the years 1912 and 1914. The campaign was instigated by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), and was a part of their wider campaign for women's ...
*
List of suffragists and suffragettes This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the public ...
*
List of women's rights activists This article is a list of notable women's rights activists, arranged alphabetically by modern country names and by the names of the persons listed. Afghanistan * Amina Azimi – disabled women's rights advocate * Hasina Jalal – women's empowerm ...
*
Timeline of women's suffrage Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant ...
*
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom A movement to fight for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom finally succeeded through acts of Parliament in 1918 and 1928. It became a national movement in the Victorian era. Women were not explicitly banned from voting in Great Britai ...


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links


The Kenney Papers
(University of East Anglia)
Suffragette Stories
(University of East Anglia) *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, Annie 1879 births 1953 deaths English feminists English suffragists English socialist feminists LGBT people from England People from Saddleworth Eagle House suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union Hunger Strike Medal recipients