(1863-1946)
In a nod to her prison days, the day I visit Alice she is ‘behind bars’; albeit Heras fencing as some renovation work is being done in the square. At least that’s my substandard excuse for dodgy photo angles….
Born in 1863, Alice left school at thirteen and began working life as a shoe machinist.
From a young age, Alice saw the inequality of pay in factories drawn on gender lines. She became involved in the trade union movement becoming president of the Leicester Independent Women’s Boot and Shoe Trade Union, fighting for fairer pay and working conditions but later became disillusioned as male rights as a family’s ‘breadwinner’ often overlooked that of women workers.
In 1907 Alice attended her first Women’s Social and Political Union meeting in London. The Votes for Women march that followed led to Alice’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment. In the following years she was to be arrested and jailed five times for her actions. Shortly after Alice formed the Leicester branch speak at factory gates and in the city centre urging women of all classes and social backgrounds to support the cause.
The statue of Alice sits in Leicester Market Square at the site where she often gave her speeches The 2018 unveiling coincided with the centenary of initial voting rights for some women.
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