Winifred Mayo born Winifred Monck Mason (8 November 1869 – 18 February 1967) was a British actor, director, translator and suffragette. She was a co-founder of the

Actresses' Franchise League The Actresses' Franchise League was a women's suffrage organisation, mainly active in England. Founding In 1908 the Actresses' Franchise League was founded by Gertrude Elliott, Adeline Bourne, Winifred Mayo and Sime Seruya at a meeting in the ...

and the secretary of the

Six Point Group The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas. Aims The six original specific aims were: # Satisfactory legislation on child assault; ...

which called for social reform.

Life

Mayo was born in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1869. Her parents were Alice Portia (born Wolley) and Thomas Monck-Mason. Her father, who was a civil servant, died in 1874 and Mayo was educated in Britain. In 1881 her family were living in Bath. Her siblings were Roger Henry, Edith Mary and Thomas George. Her sister Dorothea died when young. The family lived in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

in Devon where Mayo did her first acting. By the twentieth century Mayo and her mother were living in London.

Actor and director

Mayo co-directed and starred in Rosina Filippi's adaptation of Jane Austen's ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

''. The play was called ''The Bennets'' and it was performed at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

in a special matinee on 29 March 1901. She co-directed the play with

Harcourt Williams Ernest George Harcourt Williams (30 March 1880 – 13 December 1957) was an English actor and director. After early experience in touring companies he established himself as a character actor and director in the West End. From 1929 to 1934 he ...

. Williams appeared as

Mr. Darcy Fitzwilliam Darcy Esquire, generally referred to as Mr. Darcy, is one of the two central characters in Jane Austen's 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice''. He is an archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Benn ...

and Mayo played

Elizabeth Bennet Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the ci ...

. The play was well received to a full house with both Mayo and Williams' noted for their able performances.''The Croydon Guardian'' (6 April 1901)
/ref> Mayo's next project was not so successful. She decided to translate Gabriele d'Annunzio's play ''La Giaconda'' which had been written for the leading Italian actress

Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele d'Annunzio and Hen ...

. The play involved a love triangle where a husband is torn between the love of his wife and that of his muse. A review in '' The Era'' newspaper in 1907 suggested it would not appeal to "healthy-minded" British citizens.''The Era'' (14 December 1907)
/ref> In the same year she and her mother 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 ...

's branch in Kensington.

Suffragette

In 1908 she was part of the suffragette's militant campaign. She joined the deputation that went from Caxton Hall to the House of Commons and as a result she was sentenced to six weeks in prison. She wrote an account of this for " The Idler". In 1908 she wrote about her prison experience and she co-founded the

with

Gertrude Elliott Gertrude Elliott (December 14, 1874 — December 24, 1950), later Lady Forbes-Robertson, was an American stage actress, part of an extended family of theatre professionals including her husband, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, and her elder siste ...

Adeline Bourne Adeline Bourne (January 1873 - 8 February 1965) was an Anglo-Indian actress, suffragette and charity worker.'Miss Adeline Bourne: Actress and suffragette', ''The Times'', 10 February 1965 Life Adeline Bourne was born in India on 8 January 1873. S ...

and

Sime Seruya Sime is a surname which traces back to the Clan Fraser, and the name ''Shimidh'', Gaelic for Simon. It may refer to one of these: * Dave Sime (1936-2016), an American athlete * Ruth Lewin Sime (1939- ), American author * Sidney Sime (1867-1941), a ...

at a meeting in London's

Criterion Restaurant The Criterion Restaurant is an opulent restaurant complex facing Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London. It was built by architect Thomas Verity in '' Neo-Byzantine'' style for the partnership Spiers and Pond, which opened it in 1873. Apar ...

. The league's work included helping those who needed to speak publicly and also giving advice on make-up and clothing to suffragettes who were trying to avoid attention (and arrest). She was arrested again in 1909 and 1910 but she was not charged. No. 93

Oakley Street, Chelsea Oakley Street is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from King's Road to the crossroads with Cheyne Walk and the River Thames, where it continues as the Albert Bridge and Albert Bridge Road. The ...

was home to several suffragettes on 2 April 1911, who refused to complete the

1911 census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...

because "If women don’t count, neither shall they be counted". However, the enumerator was able to confirm from the neighbours that the head of the house was Mrs Monck Mason, who lived there with her unnamed daughter, her unnamed sister and two unnamed servants. In 1911/12 the suffragettes intensified their campaign to include breaking windows. Mayo was involved and she broke a window at the Guard's Club and while arrested she broke another. She was sentenced to a fortnight in jail, but she later recalled that some of the guard officers were interested enough to attend a suffragette meeting, In 1912 her mother was also arrested for a similar offence.

Reformer

The

was founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to make changes to British law. The membership included many ex-suffragettes and suffragists and the secretary for the first five years was Mayo. In December 1932 the group was invited to talk to the Ministry of Labour and the deputation consisted of the MP

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. E ...

Eva Hubback Eva Marian Hubback (13 April 1886 – 15 July 1949) was an English feminist and an early advocate of birth control and eugenics. Early life Eva Marian Spielmann was born on 13 April 1886, daughter of Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936). Sir Meyer wa ...

of the

National Union for Equal Citizenship National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, Rae Strachey for the Women's National Service League and Mayo. In 1958 Mayo was interviewed by the BBC where she recounted her time as a suffragette including the attack on the Guard's Club. She died aged 97 on 18 February 1967 and her obituary noted her devotion to social reform.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Winifred 1869 births 1967 deaths 20th-century British actresses 20th-century British translators Actresses from Devon British women theatre directors Actresses from Bath, Somerset Actors from Exmouth People from Mumbai Suffragettes Translators to English