Laura Frances Ainsworth (1885 – 1958) was a British teacher and suffragette. She was employed by 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 ...

and was one of the first suffragettes to be force-fed. She left the WSPU in 1912 in protest at the ejection of the Pethick-Lawrences, but continued to work for women's suffrage.

Life

Ainsworth was born in Blything in Suffolk in 1885, and she was brought up in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. She became a teacher but decided in 1909 to become a full time worker for the

(WSPU) in 1909. Ainsworth was drafted to co-ordinate WSPU activities in the Midlands with

Gladice Keevil Gladice Georgina Keevil (later Mrs Rickford; 1884 – 1959) was a British suffragette who served as head of the Midlands office of the Women's Social and Political Union between 1908 and 1910. Early life Gladice was born and had her chi ...

. She was involved in the protest on 17 September 1909 when

Charlotte Marsh Charlotte Augusta Leopoldine Marsh (3 March 1887 – 21 April 1961), known as Charlie Marsh, was a militant British suffragette. She was a paid organiser of the Women's Social and Political Union and is one of the first women to be force fed d ...

Mary Leigh Mary Leigh (née Brown; 1885–1978) was an English political activist and suffragette. Life Leigh was born as Mary or Marie Brown in 1885. She was born in Manchester and was a schoolteacher until her marriage to a builder, surnamed Leigh. She j ...

and

Patricia Woodlock Patricia Woodlock (born Mary Winifred Woodlock; 25 October 1873 – after 1930) was a British artist and suffragette who was imprisoned seven times, including serving the longest suffragette prison sentence in 1908 (solitary confinement for th ...

climbed onto the roof of

Bingley Hall Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site. Precursor The precursor of Bingley Hall was an " ...

in Birmingham. They were protesting at women being excluded from a political meeting where the British Prime Minister

Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

was giving a speech. Marsh , Leigh and Woodlock threw roof tiles which they levered up with an axe at the Asquith's car and at the police. They went to trial and were sent onto

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 ...

, along with Hilda Burkitt and as they arrived were singing protest songs loudly and refusing to wear prison dress claiming 'political' not criminal status. Ainsworth was with Hugh Franklin on the train that

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 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

was travelling on when he challenged him on his attitude to suffragettes and caused a scene in which Franklin was arrested and went on hunger strike in prison himself . She worked at the Woman's Press shop in 1910 and was an organiser in Kent, later she left Newcastle WSPU due to split in the movement and worked for

Votes for Women A vote is a formal method of choosing in an election. Vote(s) or The Vote may also refer to: Music *''V.O.T.E.'', an album by Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo, 2004 *"Vote", a song by the Submarines from ''Declare a New State!'', 2006 Television * " ...

with National Political League. The league was started by Mary Adelaide Broadhurst and Margaret Milne Farquharson and in 1913 Ainsworth would be the NPL secretary.

First force-feeding

In protest about not being treated as a political prisoner she,

Mabel Capper Mabel Henrietta Capper (23 June 1888 – 1 September 1966) was a British suffragette. She gave all her time between 1907 and 1913 to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) as a 'soldier' in the struggle for women's suffrage. She was imp ...

, Marsh and Leigh went on hunger strike while in Winson Green Prison. They became some of the first suffragette

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 ...

rs to be forcibly fed. Ainsworth objected to being forcibly fed. After she was released she wrote an open letter to the first hunger striker,

Marion Wallace Dunlop Marion Wallace Dunlop (22 December 1864 – 12 September 1942) was a Scottish artist and author. She was the first and one of the most well known British suffragettes to go on hunger strike, on 5 July 1909, after being arrested in July 1909 fo ...

, describing her experience. Ainsworth described in how it felt when she was force fed as "horrible choking and stunned sensation" and the removal of the tube felt 'as if my inside was being pulled out' in ''Votes for Women'' 8 October 1909. The WSPU took advantage of the opportunity for publicity and after a doctor's report of physical and "nervous' damage, prepared an unsuccessful case for assault against the home secretary and prison authorities on their behalf. Ernest Helby (who did the force feeding) wrote to the Home Office after being threatened in the street by Ainsworth and

, and later had windows broken but police kept it quiet.

If women don't count, then they were not going to be counted

Jezreel's Tower or Temple file:Planting suffragette trees at Eagle House Suffragettes Annie Kenney, Mary Blathwayt, Laura Ainsworth and Charlotte Marsh (left to right).jpg,

is shown here planting a tree at Eagle House witnessed by Annie Kenney,

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 of ...

and Ainsworth (3rd from L) 2 April 1911 was the night of the British census when the government recorded details of everyone living in the United Kingdom. The WSPU as part of their campaign of civil disobedience had decided that if women "didn't count, then they were not going to be counted". Ainsworth hired a room used by a dance academy in Jazreel's Hall (the religious folly known as Jezreel's Tower in Gillingham). Ainsworth was boarding locally with a WSPU supporter. Over 40 women gathered there to avoid being at home during the census. However they enjoyed themselves so much that the police were called and they tipped off the census enumerators and they were counted. The census return says "Party of Suffragettes assembled in Dancing Academy – 40 in number 1 male and 39 females", but carries no details of who was there.

Honour

Ainsworth and Marsh were invited as leading suffragettes to Eagle House in

Batheaston Batheaston is a village and civil parish east of the English city of Bath, on the north bank of the River Avon. The parish had a population of 2,735 in 2011. The northern area of the parish, on the road to St Catherine, is an area known as No ...

in April. This was the home of

and her parents. They invited leading suffragettes to plant trees to commemorate their achievements. A plaque was made to record each event and Colonel Linley Blathwayt would take photographs. A Cypressus Lawsoniana Wisselii was planted to record Ainsworth's achievement and Colonel Blathwayt also took a portrait photograph. Ainsworth 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 t ...

'for valour' by the WSPU. Ainsworth left the WSPU in protest in 1912 at the ejection of the Pethick-Lawrences from the WSPU.

After suffragettes

Ainsworth was active in the Women's Section of the British Legion in the 1930s. She died in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainsworth, Laura 1885 births 1958 deaths People from Salisbury Schoolteachers from Suffolk English suffragists Eagle House suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union Hunger Strike Medal recipients People from Suffolk Coastal (district)