Vera Wentworth (born Jessie Alice Spink; 1890 – 1957) was a 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 ...

, who notably door-stepped and then assaulted the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

on two occasions. She was incarcerated for the cause and was force fed, after which she wrote "Three Months in Holloway"

Life

Wentworth was born in 1890, to Harry Laing Spink and his wife, Rachel Amanda (née Goode). She had one sibling, brother William Wilfrid Spink. After leaving school she found work in a shop going on to become an active

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. In 1907, she formslly changed her name to Vera Wentworth, and began living with Caprina Fahey in London. In 1908 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 ...

. She was quickly arrested demonstrating 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. ...

. Her sentence was six weeks in prison; an extra day was added to Wentworth's sentence after she carved "Votes for Women" into her cell wall. Upon release, Wentworth and others were met 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 ...

, beginning a lon friendship between the two women. Following her release, Wentworth joined a secret spin-off group called the Young Hot Bloods, which pledged to undertake "danger duty" in the name of women’s suffrage. Of the older suffragettes, only

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 ...

was permitted to sit in on their meetings at a tea shop on London’s Strand. Elder suffragist

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 ...

found Wentworth so charming but wayward that she affectionately referred to her as "the young hooligan we know". In June she was arrested again for demonstrating outside the House of Commons. This time she was given a three month sentence, after which she published "Should Christian Women Demand the Vote" and "Three Months in Holloway". Wentworth was a writer with an ambition to attend university, and member of the

Women Writer's Suffrage League A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

. Wentworth was then based in Bristol with other suffragettes including

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 ...

Violet Bland Violet Ann Bland (17 December 1863 – 21 March 1940) was an English suffragette and hotelier who wrote about her experiences being force fed in prison. Early life and career Bland was born in Bayston Hill, Shropshire, the oldest of nine child ...

, and

Elsie Howey Rose Elsie Neville Howey (1 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), known as Elsie Howey, was an English suffragette. She was a militant activist with the Women's Social and Political Union and was jailed at least six times between 1908 and 1912. Earl ...

. She gained another three month prison sentence when she and Howey were arrested for demonstrating outside

H. H. 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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

's house. left, Millicent_Browne_planting_a_tree_at_Eagle_House_(suffragette's_rest)_with_Mary_Phillips_(suffragette).html" ;"title="Eagle_House_(suffragette's_rest).html" ;"title="Millicent Browne planting a tree at Eagle House (suffragette's rest)">Millicent Browne planting a tree at Eagle House (suffragette's rest) with Mary Phillips (suffragette)">Mary Phillips, Vera Wentworth,

and

Vera was invited to Mary Blathwayt's home at Batheaston, where the leading suffragettes met. Significant visitors were asked to plant a tree to record their achievements on behalf of the cause. Wentworth 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. Wentworth and

Jessie Kenney Jessica "Jessie" Kenney (1887 – 1985) was an English suffragette who was jailed for assaulting the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in a protest to gain suffrage for women in the UK. Details of a bombing campaign to support their cause were ...

were jailed for assaulting the Prime Minister. On 5 September 1909 Wentworth, Kenney and Elsie Howey assaulted Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and the Home Secretary

Herbert Gladstone Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, (7 January 1854 – 6 March 1930) was a British Liberal politician. The youngest son of William Ewart Gladstone, he was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South ...

during a golf match. Elsie Howey and Wentworth then tried to contact Asquith at his church. They were protesting the imprisonment of

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 ...

and others whilst the Prime Minister was enjoying a holiday, and decorated his private garden bushes with leaflets and cards. These direct actions proved too much for the Blathwayt family. Emily resigned from the WSPU and Linley wrote letters of protest to

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 ...

, Elsie Howey and Wentworth. Pankhurst was told that Howey and Wentworth could not visit their house again. Wentworth sent them a long reply expressing regret at their reaction but noting that "if Mr. Asquith will not receive deputation they will pummel him again". During this period her brother, an eighteen-year-old journalist who had been the leader of an unsuccessful unofficial strike of women workers in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of London, introduced her to

Fenner Brockway Archibald Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway (1 November 1888 – 28 April 1988) was a British socialist politician, humanist campaigner and anti-war activist. Early life and career Brockway was born to W. G. Brockway and Frances Elizabeth Abbey in ...

, who called 'Wilfie Spink' his 'explosive friend' and stated that she became his girlfriend. However, as the WSPU increased in the use of more violent action he distanced himself from them (he was a pacifist) and all personal acquaintances appear to have died by around 1910. Wentworth achieved her ambition of attending a university when she started at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1912 and she was there until 1914. Suffragets on hike to Boston

On 6 August 1913 she, with

Elisabeth Freeman Elisabeth Freeman (September 12, 1876 – February 27, 1942) was a British-born American suffragist and civil rights activist, best known for her investigative report for the NAACP on the May 1916 spectacle lynching of Jesse Washington in Wa ...

and

Elsie McKenzie Elsie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Elsie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lily Elsie (1886–1952), English actress and singer born Elsie Hodder * Robert Elsie (1950–2017), Canadian expert in Albanian ...

were in America to support 'Colonel'

Ida Craft Ida Augusta Craft (December 25, 1860 – September 14, 1947) was an American suffragist known for her participation in suffrage hikes. Early life Craft was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1860, the daughter of John Craft and Eleanor Voorhies Perle ...

of the

Yankee Corps The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

on a

suffrage hike The Suffrage Hikes of 1912 to 1914 brought attention to the issue of women's suffrage. Florence Gertrude de Fonblanque organised the first from Edinburgh to London. Within months Rosalie Gardiner Jones had organized the first American one which l ...

from New York to Boston, via Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, Milford, New Haven, Wallingford, Meriden, New Britain, Hartford, Marlboro, Waltham to Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts arriving on 30 August. Finally, on Labor Day, 1 September 1913, they departed at 11 am with other suffragists, to hold a meeting on Boston Common at 12.30 pm. On 4 August 1914 the First World War began. The WSPU did a deal with government and they agreed to end all protests in return for having all of their prisoners released. Wentworth respected this line and ceased work with the WSPU. From 1914 to 1918 she joined the

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD) as a nurse (a common occupation for suffragettes during this time) then became an administrator in the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (1918–1920), following which she resided in Hendon, Middlesex with Daisy Carden. During the Second World War she worked in London in the Air Raid Precautions. Wentworth died in

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female phys ...

in 1957 and bequeathed all her assets to her partner in her will.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Vera 1890 births 1957 deaths Eagle House suffragettes Hunger Strike Medal recipients