Her story is your story

Born in 1858, Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the Suffragette movement’s most steadfast leaders. She waged this battle arm-in-arm with her children. In 1903, she founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) alongside her daughters Sylvia and Christabel.

Under the motto ‘Deeds, not words’, Emmeline adopted a militant stance, using civil disobedience and disruptive tactics to fight for radical change.

By the 1920s, Emmeline was living in Canada. Passenger lists from 1919 record her occupation as ‘none’. For 40 years, she was one of the major leaders of the British suffragette movement. She played an instrumental role in the 1928 Equal Franchise Act.

Ada Salter was a trailblazing political activist. She was the first female mayor in London and one of the city’s first female councillors.

Over five decades, she tirelessly fought for progress on female suffrage, trade unionism, poverty, social housing and an end to the First World War. She co-founded numerous organisations and worked both within and outside of the Independent Labour Party.

Ada is credited with inspiring the 1911 Bermondsey Uprising, which saw over 14,000 women walk out of factories to protest poor working conditions. She was also an early environmentalist, pioneering the concept of urban gardening and leading campaigns against air pollution in London. Despite her remarkable political achievements, in the 1911 Census, Ada’s job is listed as ‘Home Duties’.

Millicent Fawcett was a political activist and writer, best known for spearheading the constitutional fight for female suffrage from 1897. Under her leadership, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) became a major political force.

She was also a fierce advocate for women’s education. In 1871, she co-founded Newnham College, the second women-only college at the University of Cambridge. She published writings on suffrage and political economy, arguing that women’s equality must be won by legal means.

Her career goes unrecognised in the 1921 Census, where she is listed as merely ‘not employed for a living’.

A spy with the French Resistance, Violette Szabo was a hero of the Second World War. Violette worked with the Women’s Land Army and as a switchboard operator before becoming a Special Operations Executive (SOE) for British intelligence services. In the summer of 1944, she was sent on a mission to Nazi-occupied France.

Violette was captured by German officials, and brutal interrogations followed. She refused to give up any information and was tragically executed on 5 February 1945, aged just 22. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

At the outbreak of war, Violette was listed as ‘clerical (unemployed)’. Her census returns don’t reflect her immense bravery or the immense sacrifice she made.

Catherine Booth was a social worker and reformer, known for founding the Salvation Army with her husband William in 1865. She worked to address the extreme poverty of the Victorian era, with ideas and practices rooted in Christianity.

A devout Methodist, Catherine argued for women’s rights to preach the gospel, thereby expanding the role of female churchgoers. Her preaching career spanned over 20 years, and she published writings on women's roles in the church.

Alongside raising eight children, Catherine played a leading role in the expanding Salvation Army. She forged her own sphere as a writer, preacher and reformer. In censuses from the 1870s and 80s, she is listed as without occupation.