Demonstrate in Hyde Park

Printed handbill issued by the Women's Social and Political Union announcing a demonstration in Hyde Park organised in support of the arrested Suffragette Teresa Billington. On 19th June 1906 Teresa Billington (later Billington-Greig) and Minnie Baldock led a contingent of East End women to the home of Herbert Asquith who, at that time, was Chancellor of the Exchequer. The resulting altercation outside his house led to the arrest of several Suffragettes including Teresa Billington. At her trial Teresa received the longest sentence of two months imprisonment and was the first Suffragette to be sent to Holloway prison although an anonymous donor later paid her fine and she was released.
This was one of a series of Hyde Park meetings organised by the Women's Social and Political Union during the summer of 1906. With the relocation of the WSPU leaders to London and the opening of a new London headquarters in 1906 the Women's Social and Political Union increased their campaigning activity in the capital. Regular, open air meetings in London's famous landmarks such as Hyde Park were crucial not only for promoting the Votes for Women message but also for putting pressure on the government to confront the issue and drive it up the political agenda.