Catalogue description CRIMINAL: Imprisonment of nine suffragettes in Winson Green Prison, Birmingham,...

CRIMINAL: Imprisonment of nine suffragettes in Winson Green Prison, Birmingham, following violent protests and incidents linked to a visit by the Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, to Birmingham on 17 September 1909. Those imprisoned, with sentences ranging from one to three months, were:

• Laura Ainsworth.
• Patricia Woodlock.
• Ellen Barwell.
• Hilda Evelyn Burkett.
• Leslie Hall.
• Mabel Capper.
• Mary Edwards.
• Mary Leigh.
• Charlotte Marsh.

The file contains police reports, newspaper reports and a large number of medical reports on the health of the prisoners, several of whom went on hunger strike and were forcibly fed. It also contains letters from the prisoners' relatives, medical opinions from a number of doctors on force-feeding, including a large typescript book of medical evidence, and a number of parliamentary questions from the Labour MP Keir Hardie on the prisoners' welfare.

There are signed letters from Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, and various petitions, including two from Charlotte Marsh. The release of Laura Ainsworth on 5 October 1909 is noted.

Later papers from this file can be found in: HO 45/10418/183577

See also HO 144/599/184276