Wendy Stephenson

There is no Woman of the Day but if there was, militant suffragette Jessie Kenney (1887-1985) of Oldham, the first woman to qualify as a ship's Radio Officer, would be a contender. She was the architect of several eye-catching publicity stunts designed to bring the campaign for women’s suffrage right to the Prime Minister’s doorstep. The younger sister of Annie Kenney and born organiser, she was regarded by Christabel Pankhurst of the Women’s Social and Political Union as indispensable. Jessie began work in a cotton mill when she was 13 but managed to study at evening classes at the same time learning new skills such as typing. They stood her in good stead. Soon after their mother died in 1905, Jessie and Annie attended a meeting organised by the Independent Labour Party at which Christabel and Teresa Billington-Greig spoke and were inspired to join the WSPU. Annie made a name for herself in October of that year when she and Christabel confronted Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey at the Free Trade Hall and were imprisoned for their actions but Jessie was more cautious and took her time. In 1906, Jessie was asked by her sister to become secretary to the WSPU’s new and very effective treasurer, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence. She got stuck in and quickly established herself, arranging meetings and stunts such as the famous Human Letter incident. She paid sixpence postage for Daisy Solomon and Elspeth McClelland to be delivered as Human Letters to No. 10 Downing Street, where delivery was refused — “You must be returned. You are dead letters” — but she had arranged for the Daily Mirror along to capture the story. It was the lead story on the front page, with photo. Jessie’s skills were so valuable — she organised interruptions of cabinet ministers' meetings as deftly as she did the pageants and processions that raised the WSPU’s profile — that Annie wrote, "Christabel insisted on Jessie's room being next to hers, as she looked upon her as absolutely indispensable for the carrying out of her London plans.” Too valuable to be in prison, but on 30 June 1908, she was arrested during a demonstration in Parliament Square and sent to HMP Holloway for a month. "At first, they were very strict; the prisoners were in their cells from 11.30 am to 8.30 next morning, with the exception of fetching water, etc. The second week, however, things were different. The wardresses were kinder, and there were many visits from doctors, magistrates, chief matrons, and others. Then two exercise times were instituted, and associated work." The following year, Jessie and a team of suffragettes targeted the Prime Minister HH Asquith, with the first incident taking place in August 1909. They broke the windows of Cabinet meeting room and lobbed objects through. In September, they disguised themselves and sailed a boat along the Military Canal mooring it next to the grounds of Lympne Castle in Kent where Asquith was staying with Home Secretary Herbert Gladstone. They accosted him outside church on Sunday morning, forcing open the church doors and knocking his hat off in the melee. “It was a real "Deeds not words" affair. Not a word was spoken on either side.” However, the more serious incident took place the next day. Jessie and the other women confronted the Prime Minister and Home Secretary on the golf course. “He then said to Miss Howey, 'I shall have you locked up,' but she promptly returned, 'I don't care what you do, Mr. Asquith!' Vera Wentworth and I then followed, and his hat was thrown off again in the scrimmage. When we arrived on the scene, Mr Asquith was calling for help and trying to push Miss Howey out of the porch. At the call of Mr Asquith, Mr Gladstone came on the scene, and a real fight ensued. Mr Gladstone and Mr Asquith tried to push us down the steps, but we pushed back as hard as they pushed forward. Mr Gladstone fought like a prize fighter and struck out left and right.” He gave her a nasty blow in the chest. “I must say he is a better fighter than he is a politician!” Jessie was imprisoned again at Holloway. It didn’t quite stop her. On 10 December 1909, she tried to bluff her way in Mr Asquith's meeting disguised as a telegraph boy but by then, imprisonment had broken her health. She developed a "lung condition" and was sent to Christabel in Paris to recuperate. When the tactics of the WSPU turned to arson and bombings, Jessie made regular journeys to England, using a pseudonym, to ensure the WSPU newspaper The Suffragette was printed and distributed. The police raided the office on 30 April 1913 and arrested several women, including her sister Annie, later imprisoned for 18 months. Part of the incriminating evidence was a letter addressed to Jessie by the WSPU’s bomb maker. She’d concealed it in a book but the police discovered it. She never forgave herself for her sister’s incarceration. Support for the WSPU went into decline when WW1 broke out. Jessie worked for the American Red Cross in Paris and earned a First Class certificate in wireless operating, making her the first woman to qualify as a ship's Radio Officer but she was barred from applying for the post. No women allowed of course. Jessie worked as a steward on cruise liners instead and later became a school administrator in London, keeping her WSPU past secret so that it wouldn’t be used as an obstacle to her career (rather like gender critical women in some professions today). She died in 1985, aged about 97. "I had to be shielded as Christabel wanted me to be kept as a dark horse".