On 17 February 1913, British suffragettes intensified their militant campaign for women’s suffrage by attacking the home of the Home Secretary and setting fire to a tennis club pavilion. These acts were part of the broader struggle for women’s voting rights, led by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst.
The attack took place during a period of escalating tensions between the suffragettes and the British government. In a coordinated action, suffragettes smashed the windows of the residence of Home Secretary Reginald McKenna, one of the key figures opposing women’s suffrage at the time. On the same day, they set fire to a pavilion at Roehampton Tennis Club, symbolising their willingness to take direct action to force political change.
These militant tactics were part of the suffragette movement’s “Deeds, Not Words” strategy, which included arson attacks, window-smashing campaigns, and acts of civil disobedience. As a result, many suffragettes were arrested and imprisoned, often enduring force-feeding while on hunger strikes in protest against their treatment.
Despite government resistance, the suffragettes’ actions kept the issue of women’s voting rights in the public eye. Their relentless campaigning eventually led to the Representation of the People Act 1918, which granted some women over 30 the right to vote. Full electoral equality was achieved a decade later, with the Equal Franchise Act 1928, which gave all women over 21 the same voting rights as men.
Also read: ON THIS DAY: Darwin’s “Origin of Species” is published (1859)
