Janette Martin takes us back to the early years of the twentieth century and the fight for the franchise with a rousing suffragette anthem.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qTYv4wT8g4E%3Fsi%3Dq4PQmoWSxYHseD4X

March of the Women
Eiddwen Harrhy (Ethel Smyth and Cicely Hamilton, 1910)

March of the Women is a rousing number that became the official anthem of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Perfect for marching and for large meetings, it was notably performed at a rally at the Albert Hall on March 23, 1911. Here Emmeline Pankhurst presented Ethel Smyth (who wrote the music; Cicely Hamilton was responsible for the words) with a baton and she conducted the whole gathering in rousing rendition. The song was also sung by women imprisoned for their suffragette activities and to welcome those released from prison.

Guaranteed to make you tap your toe!

Janette Martin is Research and Learning Manager (Special Collections) at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, and vice-chair of the Society for the Study of Labour History.