Gertrude Jessie Heward Wilkinson (1851 – 19 September 1929), also known as Jessie Howard, 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, ...

militant Suffragette, who, as a member of 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 an ...

(WSPU), was imprisoned in

Winson Green Prison HM Prison Birmingham is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probat ...

. She went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

and was

force-fed Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...

, for which she was awarded the WSPU's

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 t ...

. In 1913, she became the Literature Secretary for 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. It was an offshoot of the militant suffragettes after the Pankhursts decide to rule without democratic support fro ...

(WFL).Elizabeth Crawford
''The Women's Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland: A Regional Survey''
Routledge (2006) - Google Books, pg. 51

Early life

Born as Gertrude Jessie Heward Bell in 1851 at

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the eastern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, the daughter of Jessie and Benjamin Bell, aged 18 she married solicitor William John Wilkinson (born 1844) on 14 June 1870 at St John's church in Hampstead. They had seven children: Eleanor Gertrude Wilkinson (1872–); William D. Wilkinson (1873–); John H. Wilkinson (1875–); Ethel Mary Wilkinson (1876–); Martin Blakeston Wilkinson (1877–1974); Geoffrey Andrew Wilkinson (1882–), and Leonard Garth Wilkinson (1883–1948).

Militancy

During her militant career for women's suffrage she sometimes used the alias Jessie Howard. In 1909 she was photographed campaigning in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...

with Rose Emma Lamartine Yates and a Miss Barry. Yates had a holiday home nearby at

Seasalter Seasalter is a village (and district council ward) in the Canterbury District of Kent, England. Seasalter is on the north coast of Kent, between the towns of Whitstable and Faversham, facing the Isle of Sheppey across the estuary of the River Swa ...

and Wilkinson would stay nearby. The two suffragettes were on holiday but still campaigning for women's suffrage. In 1912 she was imprisoned where she went on

and was

for which she was awarded the WSPU's

. To keep up morale in prison the women were forced to make their own entertainment. Some such as

Emmeline 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, ...

told stories; later Emmeline Pankhurst reminisced about the early days of the WSPU. On 10 June 1912 the three imprisoned grandmothers - Gertrude Wilkinson,

Janet Boyd Janet Augusta Boyd (née Haig; 1850 – 22 September 1928) was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and militant suffragette who in 1912 went on hunger strike in prison for which action she was awarded the WSPU's Hunger Str ...

and Mary Ann Aldham sang together. On another occasion some of the women performed a scene from ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' with

Evaline Hilda Burkitt Evaline Hilda Burkitt (19 July 1876 – 7 March 1955) was a British suffragette and member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). A militant activist for women's rights, she went on hunger strike in prison and was the first suffra ...

as Shylock and the role of Narissa played by Doreen Allen. A member of the Sheffield branch of the WSPU, in 1913 Wilkinson became the Literature Secretary for the

(WFL). In the group photograph of Suffragettes shown Edith Marian Begbie is on the left with Wilkinson in the centre and Florence Macfarlane on the right. The child kneeling in front of the hammock is three year old Paul Lamartine Yates, the son of Rose Emma Lamartine Yates, the Organising Secretary and Treasurer of the Wimbledon branch of the WSPU and at whose home, Dorset Hall in

Merton Park Merton Park is a suburb in the London Borough of Merton. It is situated between Colliers Wood, Morden, South Wimbledon and Raynes Park. It is 11 miles (11.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is part of the historic parish of Merton ...

the photograph was taken in about 1912. Gertrude Wilkinson lived at 29

Oakley Square Oakley Square is a crescent-shaped garden square in Somers Town in Central London, close to Mornington Crescent and Camden Town. It is located in the London Borough of Camden and runs roughly northeastwards from Eversholt Street meeting wi ...

in Camden Town. She died in September 1929 at 6 Osnaburgh Terrace in Euston leaving £974 9s 10d in her will.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Gertrude Jessie Heward Wilkinson 1929

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Gertrude 1851 births 1929 deaths English suffragettes Women of the Victorian era Women's Social and Political Union British feminists British women's rights activists Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Women's Freedom League Hunger Strike Medal recipients