Waitresses’ revolt a fascinating tale Photo of the week
GETTING into the groove, so to speak, members held their second Zoom meeting on October 8, with a healthy presence of 18 logged in to follow a most entertaining evening presentation by Dr Ann Featherstone entitled “Storm in a Teacup – the Waitresses’ Strike of 1908”.
Our meeting was again hosted by Stephanie Cole and members were welcomed by president Jill Smith, who gave us news of other members who were unable to join and brought us up to date with the current arrangements.
We are most grateful to Lois Wilkes, our secretary, who has been assiduous in keeping all members updated.
Ann then began her illustrated story. On Saturday, April 4, 1908, before 1.30pm, when the three floors of the Cabin Restaurant, Piccadilly Circus, were full of people and the waitresses in their black dresses and yellow aprons were hard at work, taking orders, serving meals and writing up the bills, there was a loud clatter as one waitress dropped her empty tray on the marble floor and all the other waitresses did the same.
They all stopped work, assembled at the foot of the staircase leading to the mezzanine floor, the scullery ladies and the cooks joined in and the manager Mr Toller rushed to see what it was all about.
The reason for the incident was that one waitress had been dismissed without notice and to avoid a strike the manager agreed to take her back immediately.
However, on April 6, a letter was written by Mrs Gertrude Tuckwell, president of the Women’s Trade Union League, to the manager of Cabins Restaurants, demanding the dismissal of Mr Toller – and that he not be simply moved to another branch of the restaurants.
On April 8, Mr Toller was still in his position and the threat was that, if he was still in position at lunchtime, a strike would be called. Come that time, all the waitresses at the Cabin Restaurant, Piccadilly Circus, came out on strike.
Under the leadership of waitress Miss ‘Ken’ Ware, their action closed the restaurant and they were dismissed.
It is assumed that Miss Emily ‘Ken’ Ware was perhaps the waitress who had been dismissed by the manager on April 4 as she took over the leadership of the movement.
The question must be asked as to why they wanted Mr Toller to be dismissed. In 1908 there were lots of jobs for young women to work as waitresses in the many restaurants and tea shops.
They included Lyons Cornerhouse, ABC Depots (a friendly, inexpensive place where an unaccompanied
woman could have a meal), Slaters Popular Restaurant, Baltic House, 27 Leadenhall Street, and EC, the largest restaurant in the City of London (in 1907 they served 120,000 meals a week, offering ladies only afternoon tea service on the mezzanine floor).
The Cabin Restaurant was not as posh but still up from ABC (Aerated Bread Company) teashops.
The Cabin Restaurant off Piccadilly Circus was among the biggest in the West End, a favourite for theatre-goers and so busy it employed 40 waitresses, each working a 12hour shift, six days a week, for 6/9d plus tips (even although there was a sign on the wall ‘no gratuities’).
The Cabin was a big employer, employing only the prettiest waitresses in London.
They worked hard with a hefty job description; clearing tables, taking orders, making up bills, they usually were responsible for six to 10 tables, 12-hour shifts, with two halfhour breaks for meals.
When they were on duty they had to pay for their own food and supply their own dresses.
The manager was always a man, his position was powerful as he could dismiss a waitress on the spot and/or impose a punishment, usu
ally in the form of a fine. So, at 1.30pm on Wednesday April 8, the waitresses downed tools and the leader reiterated their demands for the dismissal of Mr Toller.
Mr Toller ordered the doors to be shut – the customers did not know what to do, a crowd of spectators arrived and the police were sent for.
The strikers marched en masse up to the manager’s office and demanded the reinstatement of a colleague who had been unfairly dismissed.
Mr Frankenberg, the manager, agreed to reinstate the woman and offer her a secure job, which he noted roughly on a piece of paper.
Satisfied, the waitresses went back to work. However, several days later, Mr Frankenberg refused to formalise his hastily-written note, so they staged another protest, this time with the Women’s Freedom League.
When asked to sign the document given to him by Miss Emily “Ken” Ware, Mr Frankenberg refused.
Miss Ware, the 26-year-old head waitress who had been employed for six years, was the leader and, when they all replied “Yes” to his question “Do you refuse to work?”, he dismissed them all – upon which they all decided to leave. Mr
Frankenberg held firm, as did the waitresses – the remaining diners were asked to leave and the restaurant doors were locked.
The following day the restaurant re-opened with replacement staff, called in from other branches.
On April 9, picket lines appeared outside the Cabin Restaurant in Piccadilly Circus. The strikers’ numbers had swelled. One provincial newspaper reported that a male employee had attacked a female employee – Miss Ware admitted that the personnel manager at the Cabin Restaurant had tried to kiss her. A ‘Me Too’ moment in 1908!
A first meeting was held at the Red Lion Hotel in Great Windmill Street, to elect a committee in conjunction with the Women’s Freedom League.
On Friday, April 10, the Cabin Restaurant opened as usual and business was good. Mr Frankenberg tried to reach a compromise with the waitresses – but they refused to be re-employed.
Another meeting was held at the Red Lion, when a committee was elected that included Mrs Charlotte Despard, veteran of the suffragette movement and president of the Women’s Freedom League.
As the strike continued, the WFL organised protests at Trafalgar Square and the donations poured in.
At this point Mrs Edith Holland, a wealthy property owner, offered to provide the waitresses rent-free a property at 82 Brompton Road, across the road from Harrods, that could be turned into their own tea ooms.
The waitresses decided to accept Mrs Holland’s offer and ran the venture as a cooperative.
So it was that on Monday April 13, Ken’s Kabin opened in Brompton Road selling tea, coffee, cocoa, cakes and sandwiches.
It was a roaring success and over the first two days the waitresses raised the £500 enough to begin their Leicester Square venture.
But Mrs Holland announced on April 15 that she had fallen out with the waitresses and, unless they followed her orders, she would take over on the following Saturday.
In fact, she had already closed the shop on Thursday, April 16, and returned all the furniture.
The waitresses understandably objected and the dispute ended up in court. A settlement was agreed and, by early May, a second 200-seat res