Bertha Mason (1855–1939) was an English

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and temperance campaigner born in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manc ...

. Influenced by her father

Hugh Mason Hugh Mason (30 January 1817 – 2 February 1886) was an English mill owner, social reformer and Liberal politician. He was born in Stalybridge and brought up in Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne until he entered the family cotton business in ...

, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, she became a dedicated activist, serving as a committee member in many groups including 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 ...

and National Council of Women of Great Britain. Her book ''The Story of the Women Suffrage Movement'' was published in 1912. After serving in the British Committee of the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public ...

in the

First World War 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 fig ...

, she resumed her activism with the Women's Local Government Society and joined the National Council of Women of Great Britain. She died in London.

Early life

Bertha Mason was born in

in 1855, the eldest daughter of Betsey (née Buckley) and

. Her father owned a mill and she was raised in relative comfort, although her mother died in 1861. Little is known of her education. Mason grew up in at atmosphere in which issues such as

Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for ...

, temperance and women's enfranchisement were openly discussed. As Liberal

for Ashton-under-Lyne, her father had proposed a resolution on women being able to vote in 1880 and he was associated with the Central Committee for Women's Suffrage, the Manchester Society for Women's Suffrage and the Manchester and Salford Temperance Union.

Career

Mason wrote in her 1912 book ''The Story of the Women Suffrage Movement'' that she herself became a

in 1890. By 1894, she was participating in both the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage and the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage. When the former group changed into the North of England Women's Suffrage Society, she acted as chairperson until 1903. From around 1902 onwards, she was involved in the

(NUWSS). She was also politically active more generally, taking on various committee roles in the Ashton Women's Liberal Association, the Lancashire and Cheshire Union of Women's Liberal Associations and the Lancashire Union of the British Women's Temperance Association. She was the first woman to be elected to Ashton-under-Lyne's

board of guardians Boards of guardians were '' ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the p ...

. Addressing the junior members of the British Women's Temperance Association in 1903, she told her audience "You are citizens of a State, whether you know it or not" and emphasised that "You will come to realise that the housing of the poor, the protection of infant life, the safeguarding of the workers, the care of the aged, the mentally afflicted, the education of the young, are your business, your concern." Mason moved to London in 1904, living at 9 Hyde Park Place. She took on committee roles in the Women's Local Government Society and the Central Society for Women's Suffrage. Her salon became a place for meetings attended by activists such as Kate Frye. She prepared a

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lens (optics), lenses, and a light source. ...

slide show and lecture which was summarised as "pictures of unique interest of the forerunners of the movement, the advance guard, the parliamentary champions, the present day workers, election incidents". She toured NUWSS groups, giving the lecture in places such as

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

and

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...

, and it then became the basis of her book. Mason included photographs made by

Lilias Ashworth Hallett Lilias Ashworth Hallett (1844 – 1922) was a leading British suffragist. She organised, helped to fund activities and was a speaker. She was said to have been "made ill" by the militants but she conceded that it was the militants that created t ...

. A review published in 1912 in ''The Common Cause'' magazine called it "a concise history of the leading events of the history of Women's Suffrage". Alongside books by Helen Blackburn and

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897–1919 led Britain's largest women's rights associati ...

, ''The Story of the Women Suffrage Movement'' is regarded as an official account of the Suffragist movement, focusing on a slow, continuous progression towards victory which neglects to mention some of the conflictual issues. Universal women's suffrage was encoded in law in the UK in 1928. During the

, Mason joined the British Committee of the

working in kitchens in France. After the war, she resumed her activism, becoming chairperson of the Women's Local Government Society. She also served on the National Council of Women of Great Britain and the Women's Advisory Council of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

Death and legacy

Mason had moved out of London to

Hindhead Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientif ...

, Surrey, but died on 8 July 1939 at the Hans Crescent Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. She was cremated at

Golders Green crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

and had expressed the wish for her ashes to be scattered near where her sister Edith lay in the cemetery at Worthenbury in Wales. She left in her will and made a legacy to the Ashton-under-Lyne District Infirmary and Children's Hospital, where two beds were kept in memory of her father and sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Bertha 1855 births 1939 deaths English suffragists English temperance activists English non-fiction writers People from Ashton-under-Lyne