I am interested in suffragettes in Middlesbrough also what Ellen Wilkinson did in the 1920s for the area.
For example were the suffragettes from middle class backgrounds?
Were working women too busy with large families and no servants, able to engage
Were working class women too scared to engage in protest in Middlesbrough
Could working class women read confidently in the 1900s my granny (born 1907) could read well, but the women in the generation above her could not i.e ones born in the 1870s. My granny used to read for them in the cinemas say in 1920.
Were they connected to the Co-operative society/movement (which I believe was strong on Teesside)
were there any marches in the town? never mind terrorist acts
Is it true not all working class men could vote until 1919 (before that did you have to own property or have a certain level of assets)?
Is there a statue up for Ellen Wilkinson yet?
For those that don't know Ellen was one of the first ever female MPs and represented East Middlesbrough (North Ormesby, South Bank, Cargo Fleet in the 1920s). Some hated her for what were termed her radical politics. As Minister for Education in the late 1940s since introduced free school milk and free school meals, free school transport. She also radical changed state education creating fully state funded Grammar schools and Secondary moderns and the groundings of future comprehensive schools. Previously Grammar schools were funded by private fees/scholarships and some state funding. She raised funding for all state schools. The benefits were seen in the 1950s and 60s when education for most working class children improved on Teesside from what in had been before 1947. I know the schools I went to were unrecognisible from what my parents and their generation attended. (Science labs, Craft rooms, Language labs, sports fields, bright classrooms, meeting halls, dining rooms, indoor toilets.)
