In 1884 a new Reform Bill meant that 60 percent of adult males were able to vote in British elections. But it was not until 1918, after many years of militant action by campaigners, that women won the vote. The Suffragettes had to fight hard for this right.

Sylvia Pankhurst built support for the campaign among the working women of East London. She campaigned for women’s rights at work as well as the vote. From 1912 the group in East London held street meetings in Bow and organised marches through the area and to Trafalgar Square and Parliament.

To clamp down on this militancy police arrested Suffragettes. Harsh prison sentences were imposed. The women went on hunger strikes increasing their public support, so the government began to release the Suffragettes but they were threatened with arrest if they attended demonstrations. Sylvia Pankhurst and other women were frequently arrested as they refused to stop organising, attending and speaking out at demonstrations. Protests often ended in violent confrontations and injury as the police broke them up. Many women had their bones broken.

On one such occasion on 24 May 1914, the Suffragettes attempted to hold a rally in Victoria Park. Around 20 women attempted to protect Sylvia Pankhurst by chaining themselves to her and each other. At the entrance to the park the women were surrounded by police who pushed them into the boating enclosure. They then smashed the padlocks and chains. Pankhurst described, “Any woman who attempted to hinder the work had her face pinched, her hair pulled, arms twisted and thumbs bent back.”