Suffragette’s story in major exhibition
Alice’s votes for women sash and letters
THE story of Leicester suffragette Alice Hawkins will feature in a major exhibition in London.
Voice and Vote: Women’s Place in Parliament traces the history of women in Parliament and includes the story of Alice – the shoe factory machinist who led the women’s suffrage movement in Leicester in the early 1900s.
Items belonging to Alice, including her Votes for Women sash, her hunger strike medal and a letter of commendation signed by Emmeline Pankhurst, are among the exhibits on display at the exhibition at Westminster Hall. The exhibition also features rare and previously unseen historic objects, pictures and archive material from the Parliamentary collec- tions.
Anyone unable to visit the exhibition in London’s Westminster Hall will also be able to see memorabilia from Alice Hawkins’ life at Leicester’s New Walk Museum from the end of October.
Alice Hawkins and Votes for Women opens to the public on October 27 and runs until February 24, 2019.
As well as items that will help tell Alice’s story – loaned by members of Alice Hawkins’ family – the exhibition will show how the suffrage movement crossed social boundaries and brought women from all backgrounds together.
Deputy city mayor and heritage champion Councillor Adam Clarke said: “This UKwide year of events commemorating the centenary of the Representation of the People Act started here in Leicester with the unveiling of the statue of Alice Hawkins.
“It’s great that Leicester and Alice remain on the national stage at this prestigious exhibition at Westminster, before our own exhibition at New Walk Museum brings Alice’s story back to Leicester.”
A number of Alice Hawkins’ possessions, including her Holloway brooch – designed by Sylvia Pankhurst and awarded to members of the Women’s Social and Political Union who were imprisoned for the cause – will be loaned to New Walk Museum by Alice’s great-grandchildren.
Peter Barratt – Alice’s greatgrandson – said: “There’s been a huge amount of interest in my great-grandmother during this centenary year. I’ve been sharing her story with children at schools across the city and county, but these exhibitions in London and Leicester will take Alice’s story to an even wider audience.
“Members of the family are very happy to loan out these items, which we hope will give people a better understanding of an ordinary woman who played her part in a truly extraordinary movement.”
Events commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage are being supported in Leicester by the Government’s Centenary Cities fund.
The Government awarded the city a grant of £189,500 to fund educational and celebratory events inspired by the life and work of Alice Hawkins.