Back to home page

1907

United Kingdom

..... the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (F.A.N.Y) was founded by Captain E C Baker to provide a link between the fighting units at the Front and the Field hospitals. The FIRST FANY reported for duty in Antwerp in September 1914. It was the FIRST all-women volunteer organisation and they worked as nurses and ambulance drivers in WW1 and later became the FIRST women to drive officially for the British Army. Many awards for bravery were made including the FIRST Military Medal to a woman in the field - Sadie Bonnell. Between the wars the FANYs specialised in transport and later added Women's Transport Service to its name. Most of the female agents sent to France in the Second World War were FANYs and 13 of them died in concentration camps, and three won the George Cross, two of which were awarded posthumously. Today the WTS (FANY) are based at the Duke of York's Headquarters Chelsea, is still an all-woman volunteer organisation and is the oldest uniformed women's volunteer organisation and the most decorated

..... a split developed within the Women's Social and Political Union with Teresa Billington-Grieg and Charlotte Despard opposing the Pankhurst leadership and leaving to form the Women's Freedom League

..... the Qualification of Women Act meant that women were allowed to become town or county councillors and mayors in England ( though not yet JP's)  This meant that by this time women were allowed to play important roles in local affairs but could not participate in national ones

..... a women's suffrage resolution seconded by Selina Cooper was defeated at the Labour Party Conference at Belfast

..... the Woman's Press, the first women's publishing company, was set up by leaders of the suffragette movement

Around The World

..... Norway ..... women were given a limited right, depending on income, to vote in the general election for the national assembly ( Norwegian Storting)

..... a ladies-only cinema was set up in an Arab harem to relieve the boredom of the many royal wives and Shah Mohammed Ali imported various Pathe films from France to keep his ladies entertained

Dated items

February 14th ..... UNITED KINGDOM ..... 57 suffragettes and 2 men appeared in court after bitter clashes with police on the previous evening. The struggles between the women and the police lasted for more than five hours and was the most ferocious in the war for the vote. As the women marched through the streets they were scattered by mounted police but 15 of them managed to reach the Stranger's Lobby at Westminster. In court Christabel Pankhurst said " the women who asked for votes were in danger of their lives. We do not come her in any way to excuse our conduct. We feel that yesterday was a great day for our movement. There can be no going back for us and more will happen if we do not get justice"

March 8th ..... UNITED KINGDOM ..... the Women's Enfranchisement Bill was defeated

March 15th ..... FINLAND ..... women won their FIRST seats in the Finnish Parliament belonging mostly to the majority Social Democratic Party. It was expected that their triumph would add momentum to the suffrage campaigns in Britain and America. It was the FIRST European nation to grant the vote and the third country in the world

March 22nd ..... UNITED KINGDOM ..... 75 suffragettes were jailed for refusing to pay fines for demonstrating outside Parliament

May 10th ..... AMERICA ..... Mother's Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia

May 18th ..... UNITED KINGDOM ..... the Women's Labour League in London held its FIRST conference which was chaired by Mrs Ramsay MacDonald

May 25th ..... FINLAND ..... the world's FIRST Parliament with women members opened

August 30th ..... VIENNA ..... women were allowed to become lecturers and assistants in Universities for the FIRST time on the same terms as men

December 12th ..... AMERICA ..... in New York, new rules forced women to sign affidavits of their age and good character before they married