The Suffragette Rachel Barrett

Rachel Barrett was born to Welsh-speaking parents in Carmarthenshire. In 1907, just one year after joining the Women’s Social and Political Union she was appointed a full time salaried WSPU organiser in a number of areas including Nottingham, Dewsbury, Dundee and Bristol. In 1910 Rachel was promoted to Chief WSPU organiser for Wales, based in Cardiff. On the removal of Christabel Pankhurst to Paris in 1912, Rachel Barrett, became assistant editor of the WSPU newspaper ‘The Suffragette' and, in May 1913, was one of the leaders arrested during a raid on WSPU headquarters in London. Found guilty of conspiracy to cause wilful damage to property she was sentenced to 9 months imprisonment in the third division. During this period of imprisonment Rachel was released several times under the terms of the Cat & Mouse Act. In July she was rearrested during a scuffle with police as she left a Suffragette meeting at the Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street.