Dorothy Elizabeth Evans (6 May 1888 – 28 August 1944) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

activist and

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 ...

. On the eve 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 ...

she was a militant organiser for 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 ...

twice arrested in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

on explosives charges. She broke with

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 ...

and the WSPU in 1914 over their support for the war, and remained until the end of her life an active peace and women's equality campaigner.

Early WSPU Engagement

Born in the

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

area of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Evans studied at the

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is an independent school with a day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju I ...

and the

Dartford College Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...

of Physical Education, qualifying as a teacher.Evans, Dorothy
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' She joined the

(WSPU) in 1907 and, after resigning a teaching position, from early 1910 worked full-time as the Union's Birmingham organiser.Krista Cowman, ''Women of the right spirit'', pp.190, 220 During this period, she was frequently arrested and imprisoned for acts linked to the

campaign, including refusing to buy a

dog license A dog licence is required in some jurisdictions to be the keeper of a dog. Usually a dog-licence identifying number is issued to the owner, along with a dog tag bearing the identifier and a contact number for the registering organization. If a s ...

Convicted for her part in a window-smashing campaign in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

, between March and July 1912 Evans was held in the Feeble-Minded Inebriate bloc of

Aylesbury Prison His Majesty's Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Aylesbury is a Young Offender Institution situated in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the north side of the town centre, on Bierton Road and is operated by Her Majesty's Priso ...

. She protested in two hunger strikes and endured forced feeding. After her release she served as WSPU liaison between its London headquarters and its leader,

, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ien exile. Evans travelled in disguise to avoid detection, but learned she had avoided arrest only because an innocent Dorothy Evans had been detained.

Direct action in Ulster

In the spring of 1913 Evans was posted to the north of Ireland,

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, where Pankhurst had decided it was the Ulster Unionists, not the

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

, who were to be courted. The

Irish Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

had ignored her warning that if they helped defeat the 1912 Conciliation bill (which would have extended the vote to women albeit on a highly restrictive property basis), they would be in "a fight to the death" with the suffragists: "No votes for women, no

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

". Evans quickly attracted

Elizabeth McCracken Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966) is an American author. She is a recipient of the PEN New England Award. Life and career McCracken, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North High ...

(the writer "L.A.M. Priestley"), Dr Elizabeth Bell (Ireland's first qualified woman gynaecologist) and other unionist suffragists from the Irish Women's Suffrage Society, a Belfast group that defended militant tactics. By April 1914, Evans had won over so many from the IWSS that it formally disbanded. When in the spring of 1914, the Unionist leader

Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, PC, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge, who served as the Attorney General and Solicito ...

pressed by Evans (she led a forty-hour siege of his doorstep in London), overruled Craig (who had supported the Conciliation Bill) on a Unionist commitment to women's suffrage, Evans declared an end to "the truce we have held in Ulster." At a meeting held in Belfast’s Ulster Hall on 13 March 1914, she proposed that:

Carson was no friend of women unless he was prepared to stand and champion their rights as strongly as he championed the rights of men ... he was their enemy, and he would be fought as any other politician ... who had the power and did not use it to get their rights ... they ... declared war on ... Carson ... The civil war that was absolutely certain was the one between the women and the powers that be.

In the months that followed WSPU militants, including Bell, were implicated in a series of arson attacks on Unionist-owned buildings and on male recreational and sports facilities. On 3 April 1914 police raided the flat in

Evans was sharing with local activist Midge Muir, and found explosives. In court, five days later, the pair created uproar when they demanded to know why the Ulster Unionist James Craig who was arming the Ulser Volunteers with German guns was not appearing on the same charges. Convicted and committed to

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...

prison, Evans went on hunger strike. She wrote to fellow militant Kate Evans, "I am getting some mental and spiritual peace, though my body is suffering – I find I am getting ill much sooner now I am not taking water either… The cells here are darker than any I have seen". Because of her deterioration Evans was released on 26 July. She was cared for by a sister WPSU

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 ...

list

Lillian Metge Lillian Margaret Metge (née Grubb; 22 June 1871 – 10 May 1954) was an Anglo-Irish suffragette and women's rights campaigner. She founded the Lisburn Suffrage Society, which she left to become a militant activist, leading on an explosion at th ...

. In May Metge had been part of the large group of women who charged at

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

outside

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, and during Evans's trail had herself been arrested for throwing stones at the court windows. On 31July 1914, in a plan hatched with Evans, Metge bombed the chancel of

Lisburn Cathedral Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn (also known as Lisburn Cathedral), is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Connor in the Church of Ireland. It is situated in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Previously St ...

Pacifist and equality campaigner

Again in prison, Evans was released under the general amnesty offered to members of the WSPU at the outbreak of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

in August . She broke with the WSPU and the Pankhursts by opposing the war and became an organiser for the

Independent Women's Social and Political Union The Independent Women's Social and Political Union (IWSPU, often known as the Independent WSPU) was a women's suffrage organisation active in the United Kingdom during World War I. The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the most promine ...

. In 1915, she was refused a passport to attend the Women's Peace Conference in the Hague. Evans also became active with an earlier breakaway from the WSPU, the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access ...

, in 1917 helping form a branch in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

with

Ada Broughton Ada Broughton (1879–1934) was a British temperance campaigner, suffragette organiser and Labour councillor and alderman, prominent in Scotland in the Women's Freedom League, and in England in the Pembroke Chapel, British Women's Temperance As ...

and

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Polit ...

. The League had Formed in 1907 in protest against both the Pankhursts' lack of democratic accountability and the militant actions that they (and Evans) had sanctioned. But League commitment to non-violence extended to opposition to the war and a commitment to the

Women's Peace Council The Women's Peace Council was a group that, during World War I, campaigned for a negotiated end to the conflict. The group's membership was mainly from the Women's Freedom League, a group made up of suffragettes. Many of its members were also paci ...

. After the war Evans continued as an organiser for the WFL and from 1923 also organised for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Later she became a leading member (for many years chairperson) of the

Six Point Group The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas. Aims The six original specific aims were: # Satisfactory legislation on child assault; ...

which demanded legislative redress with regard to child abuse, widowed and unmarried mothers, equal parental rights, and equal pay and opportunity in schools and the civil service, and she joined the similarly programmed

National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship 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 re ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she served as the secretary of the Women's International League. Her principal concern, however, continued to be employment equality. She was involved in the Equal Compensation Campaign from 1941 to 1943 and became a member of the Equal Pay Campaign Committee in 1944, to ensure equal pay in the Civil Service. She was also active in the Women for Westminster group campaigning to increase the number of women MPs, and the drafted the Equal Citizenship (Blanket) Bill of 1944.

Personal life

Evans died after a two-day illness in Glasgow where she was to speak at a meeting. She was 55. Evans had maintained simultaneous long-term relationships with

Sybil Morrison Sybil Morrison (2 January 1893 – 26 April 1984) was a British pacifist and a suffragist who was active with several other radical causes. As a young and enthusiastic suffragist, Morrison was persuaded by Emmeline Pankhurst that she was too ...

and Emil Davies, a married Labour Party London County councillor. Evans refused wedlock, and according to her friend

Monica Whately (Mary) Monica Whately (30 November 1889 – 12 September 1960) was a British people, British suffragist and political activist. Life Born in the Brompton, London, Brompton area of London, Whately studied at the London School of Economics. In 191 ...

saved for three years in preparation for the baby fathered by Davies in 1921. At the time of her death in August 1944 her daughter Lyndal (named after the heroine in

Olive Schreiner Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a South African author, pacifist, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel ''The Story of an African Farm'' (1883), which has been highly acclaimed ...

's ''Story of an African Farm'') was a member of the executive committee of the Six Point Group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Dorothy 1888 births 1944 deaths English pacifists English suffragists English LGBT people People educated at North London Collegiate School People from Kentish Town Women's Social and Political Union Hunger Strike Medal recipients

Early WSPU Engagement

Direct action in Ulster

Pacifist and equality campaigner

Personal life

See also

References