Beatrice Sanders

Beatrice Helen Sanders (1874 – 29 November 1932) was a British suffragette and humanist,[1] who served as financial secretary of the Women's Social and Political Union from 1904 until 1914.[2]

Beatrice Sanders
From The Suffragette, 20 June 1913
Born
Beatrice Helen Martin

1874
Died29 November 1932
OccupationSuffragette
Organization(s)Women's Social and Political Union, Union of Ethical Societies, Fabian Society
SpouseWilliam Stephen Sanders

Life

Born Beatrice Helen Martin, her mother was a hairdresser[3] and she worked as an assistant in her fathers' tobacconist shop before marrying a progressive social politician,[3] William Stephen Sanders.[4] A keen women's suffrage activist, from 1904 until 1914, she was employed, at a salary of £3 a week,[3] as the financial secretary of the Women's Social and Political Union.[2] Annie Kenney recalled in her memoirs[5] Sanders' strong control of members' expenses, as they would be expected to correct errors or deficits "out of our own pocket".[3]

Sanders worked closely with Sylvia Pankhurst, and was imprisoned for her activities on multiple occasions.[6] On one occasion, she was sentenced to fourteen months for taking part in the events at the House of Commons in February 1907, and for a month for throwing stones on Black Friday in November 1910. By 1913, as financial secretary of the Women's Social and Political Union, she was arrested with Harriet Kerr[7] after a struggle with police which was front-page news in The Suffragette, when the premises at Clement's Inn was raided, the sentence was fifteen days.[3][8] She went on hunger strike in Lewes prison and was temporarily released under the terms of the Cat and Mouse Act, and although her sentence was never annulled, she was not re-arrested.[2]

Sanders' name appears on the 'Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners'.[9] She was also given a Hunger Strike Medal 'for Valour' by the WSPU.

Sanders and her husband were longstanding members of the Fabian Society and the West London Ethical Society (part of the Union of Ethical Societies, now Humanists UK). During the 1920s Beatrice served as chair of the Fabian Women's Group.[10][11] For a period when her husband was working in Geneva, she became an organiser in the Swiss women's movement.[2]

Beatrice Sanders died on 29 November 1932 at the age of 58.[2]

Report of the arrests of suffragettes Harriet Kerr and Beatrice Sanders, from the collection of the LSE Library.

References
  1. "Heroines of freethought: women of the early humanist movement". Humanists UK. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. "Mrs Sanders". The Times. 1 December 1932.
  3. Diane, Atkinson (2018). Rise up, women! : the remarkable lives of the suffragettes. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 50, 396. ISBN 9781408844045. OCLC 1016848621.
  4. "Suffragist salaries". The Times. 12 June 1913.
  5. Kenney, Annie (1924). Memories of a Militant. Edward Arnold. pp. 82–3.
  6. "[untitled article]". Manchester Guardian. 2 December 1932.
  7. DISTURBANCES: Harriet R. Kerr, Suffragette. Released under Prisoners (Temporary... 1913.
  8. "Seizure of suffragette headquarters". The Times. 1 May 1913.
  9. National Archives. "Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners 1905-1914, Ref 7LAC/2". The National Archives UKwww.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. "Obituary". Fabian News. January 1933.
  11. Crawford, Elizabeth (1999). The women's suffrage movement : a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: UCL Press. ISBN 1-84142-031-X. OCLC 59376897.
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