The Forgotten Heroes of the British Suffrage Movement

Andrew Griffiths

• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Year: 2026
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781036116514
• Subtopic: Women in History
• Index: History

This narrative recounts the struggle for women's right to vote through lesser-known activists, tracing political issues, sacrifices, and militant escalation.

The Forgotten Heroes of the Suffrage Movement investigates the struggle for women’s right to vote through the eyes of some of the lesser-known activists. It delves into the themes, events and political issues that formed the bases of the movement and seeks to highlight the sacrifices made in the process of winning female enfranchisement. It begins with a look at the early campaigners and organizations that led the way at a time when the concept of women voting was seen as nothing more than a quaint idea. The book charts how for some, progress was deemed too slow which led to the introduction and gradual increase in militant tactics, culminating in arson attacks and a bombing campaign.

Forgotten Heroes also takes a fascinating deep dive into the myriad of different identities that made up the women of the suffrage movement. They came from all walks of life, supported different political parties, had various sexual preferences and some even came from other races. Despite this diversity, in a period spanning a little under one hundred years, women banded together and fought a political war. They gave up their time, money, freedom, health and even their lives for an objective that today is taken for granted as a basic human right, the entitlement for women in the UK to vote on the same terms as men.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One The Early Suffrage Movement
• Chapter Two Suffrage Organisations in the Early Twentieth Century
• Chapter Three Suffrage Propaganda and the Battle for Hearts and Minds
• Chapter Four Social Class and Identity in the Suffrage Movement
• Chapter Five Hunger Strikes and Force-Feeding
• Chapter Six Politics, False Hope and Violence – The Conciliation Bill and Black Friday
• Chapter Seven The Return to Militancy
• Chapter Eight The Reign of Terror
• Chapter Nine The Women’s Movement – The Struggle Continues
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Plates