Eleanor Grace Watney Roe (1885–1979) was Head of

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 ...

operations 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 ...

. She was released from prison after 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 ...

due to an amnesty for suffragettes negotiated with the government by the WSPU.

Early life

The daughter of Thomas Henry Roe (1858-1927) and Eleanor Jane Watney Roe (1856-1897), Eleanor Grace Watney Roe was born on 1 August 1885 in Norwood, Surrey. In the 1901 Census the family was living at 11 Veronica Road,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

.Crawford, Elizabeth. (2003). ''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928''. Taylor & Francis. p. 604; She was educated at

Bedales Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventi ...

, a progressive mixed-sex boarding school, before attending art college. She became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

when she was 12.

Suffragette activity

Roe later recalled that at the age of six she was interested in women's rights. She said that she met her first suffragette who was chalking "Votes for Women" on the pavement together with the details of a meeting when she was out shopping in London. She was impressed by

Lucy Burns Lucy Burns (July 28, 1879 – December 22, 1966) was an American suffragist and women's rights advocate.Bland, 1981 (p. 8) She was a passionate activist in the United States and the United Kingdom, who joined the militant suffragettes. Burns w ...

coming from America to fight for this cause, courting imprisonment. She was told that the suffragettes were "unwomanly" so she resisted joining the

(WSPU) despite being impressed by the majestic figure of

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 ...

and her daughter, Christabel, when she heard them speak in 1908. Later that year she heard

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, w ...

speak and, given that she was financially independent, she opted to join the campaign. Christobel was very close to

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

, who had joined the campaign in 1905. It has been claimed that Christobel transferred her affections to Grace Roe and that they may have been in a lesbian relationship. She was succeeded in 1910 as organiser of the Brixton branch of WSPU by Helen Craggs. Roe was sent to Ipswich and in about 40 days she had transformed the town, which had had only one WSPU member. She was based at 19 Silent Street and she invited other leading suffragettes like Marie Brackenbury and Mildred Mansel down to help. In October 1912,

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spent ...

resigned his parliamentary seat to fight a by-election in his constituency of Bow and Bromley on the specific issue of women's suffrage. Roe was sent by the WSPU to lead his campaign. He lost to his Conservative opponent, who campaigned on the slogan "No Petticoat Government".

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with ...

later criticised Roe's campaign but Labour MP

Will Thorne William James Thorne CBE (4 October 1857 – 2 January 1946) was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. Early years Thorne was born in Hockley, Birmingham, on 8 October 1857. His father and other ...

figured that no constituency could ever be won on the single question of votes for women. Roe was chosen as the deputy to Annie Kenney so that she could take over if necessary and eventually Kenney was arrested and Roe took over her role. The WSPU awarded Roe 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' and a

Holloway brooch The Holloway brooch was presented by the Women's Social and Political Union (WPSU) to women who had been imprisoned at Holloway Prison for militant suffragette activity. It is also referred to as the "Portcullis badge", the "Holloway Prison brooc ...

. When war broke out in 1914, Roe was in prison; she was released as part of the deal struck by the WSPU with the government. The WSPU agreed to cease militant disruption and in exchange the government released all the suffragettes and paid for the WSPU to have a celebration in support of the war effort.

World War I

In 1915, Roe accompanied

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 ...

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 ...

and Annie Kenney 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 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 ...

work.

United States residency

After the Second World War, Roe opened a bookshop and metaphysical library in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. She stayed in close contact with Christabel Pankhurst and was with her when the latter died at her home in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

on 13 February 1958 (aged 77) from a heart attack. Roe was appointed Pankhurst's literary executor and was responsible for the publication of Christabel's memoirs, ''Unshackled: the Story of how we Won the Vote''.

Legacy

Roe was interviewed twice for the BBC concerning her role in the suffrage struggle. She was seen wearing her

in a reunion with

Leonora Cohen Leonora Cohen (; 15 June 1873 – 4 September 1978) was a British suffragette and trade unionist, and one of the first female magistrates. She was known as the "Tower Suffragette" after smashing a display case in the Tower of London and acted ...

, on the cover of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

.''

References

Sources

* *

External links

Grace Roe
on Spartacus Educational
Woman's Hour - Grace Roe
on the BBC
Woman's Hour – Eleanor Higginson and Grace Roe
on the BBC
Rise Up, Women!: The Militant Campaign of the Women's Social and Political Union, 1903–1914
by Andrew Rosen {{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Grace 1885 births 1979 deaths 20th-century British women British women activists British suffragists Women activists People educated at Bedales School Women's Social and Political Union Hunger strikers Hunger Strike Medal recipients Holloway brooch recipients