Seven Great Processions

Printed handbill or flyer promoting 'Women's Sunday' organised by the Women's Social and Political Union on 21 June 1908. The leaflet notes the event will include seven great processions, over thirty bands and seven hundred banners' as well as speeches by the Suffragette leaders. The mass printing and distribution of such handbills in the days leading up to Women's Sunday were intended to encourage spectators to line the processional route and attend the rally in Hyde Park. This leaflet emphasis the 'spectacle' of the event in recognition of the popularity of such events amongst Londoners. This flyer was specifically aimed at residents in the Chelsea area. Mass attendance by large numbers of the general public at such events was vital for the Suffragette campaign. Evidence of mass support for their campaign enabled them to put pressure on the government to move the 'votes for women' debate up the political agenda. The mass printing and distribution of a range of flyers and handbills promoting the event was masterminded both from WSPU headquarters at Clement's Inn and by local branches. This marketing tactic proved highly effective and resulted in a crowd of up to 300,000 attending the event. ‘Never’, reported the Daily Chronicle, has so vast a throng gathered in London to witness a parade of political forces’.