Helen Kirkpatrick Watts (1881 – 18 August 1972) was a militant British

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 ...

from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

Life

Watts was born in

Bishopwearmouth Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

in 1881. Her father, Alan Hunter Watts, was the vicar at Holy Trinity Church in Lenton near

; her mother was Ethelinda Woodrow Cassels. She came to notice after she joined 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 ...

in 1907 after being inspired by a local speech by

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 ...

Watts was deaf and as a consequence she spoke with a strong accent. Her year of action was 1909. On 24 February she attended the "Women's Parliament" at

Caxton Hall Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily noted for its historical associations. It hosted many mainstream and fringe political and art ...

and after that a small number decided to form a deputation to parliament. She was the second to be arrested outside the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

after being involved in a WSPU demonstration. She was charged with obstruction and after refusing to improve her behaviour she was sentenced to one month's imprisonment. Her release was celebrated by the suffragettes and her achievement was recognised with flowers. Watts believed that actions and not words were required and in September she was again making trouble in Leicester where

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 ...

was making a speech. She was released from

Leicester Prison HM Prison Leicester is a Category B men's Local prison, located on Welford Road in the centre of Leicester, Leicestershire, England. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced priso ...

after a 90-hour hunger strike. Watts was 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. left, Helen Watts at Eagle House in 1911 planting a commemorative tree Watts was living with her brother Neville in 1911 in

Chilcompton Chilcompton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 3.0 miles south-west of Westfield. It is situated on the B3139 road between Radstock and Wells, close to the A ...

in Somerset. Watts achievements for the cause were recognised by

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 ...

and her parents Linley and

Emily Blathwayt Emily Marion Blathwayt (née Rose; 1852 – 1940) was a British suffragette and mother of Mary Blathwayt. She and her husband, Linley, a retired Colonel from the Indian Army lived at Eagle House in Somerset and established a welcome and garden ...

. She was invited to their house Eagle House which was also in Somerset. Emily Blathwayt had chosen a field in the grounds of their house where suffragettes who had been imprisoned were celebrated with a particular conifer. Like other famous suffragette's Watts' visit was recorded with a purpose-made lead plaque. She was photographed by Colonel Lindley Blathwayt planting a Juniper plant on 17 March 1911. His portraits were signed and sold at the WSPU shop in Bath. Like the Blathwayts, Watts did not agree when the WSPU hardened its militancy to include acts of arson. Like many suffragettes Watts left the WSPU and joined 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 ...

. During the war she was a nurse at the

Mineral Water Hospital The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases is a small, specialist NHS hospital on the Royal United Hospital (RUH) site in the northwestern outskirts of Bath, England. The hospital was founded in 1738 as a general hospital for the poor ...

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Watts wrote one of the last known accounts of "Annies Arboretum" at Eagle House. She visited in 1962 and took a sprig of juniper as a souvenir. The local newspaper reported that she could not find the plaque but she did find stout trees and with the aid of Colonel Blathwayt's photo she identified "her" juniper. In 1965 she left for Canada presumably to live with her sister Ethelinda but she later returned to the UK.

Death and legacy

Watts was living in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

but died in

on 18 August 1972. Her papers turned up later in

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

and were donated to the archives in Nottingham. Her suffragette medal was auctioned in 1999. On 22 November 2016–100 years to the day after women were first able to vote in a general election—a juniper tree was planted in Watts' honor at the Arboretum Park in Nottingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Helen Kirkpatrick 1881 births 1972 deaths People from County Durham People from Lenton, Nottingham People from Mendip District Eagle House suffragettes Hunger Strike Medal recipients English deaf people