English: Dr Sumita Mukherjee, Senior Lecturer in History, looks back at the impact of Enid Stacey (1868 - 1903), a Bristol alumna, socialist and campaigner for women’s rights:

"An able scholar, Enid won a scholarship to study Advanced Latin at University College, Bristol, between 1887 and 1890. It was during a wave of strikes in Bristol in 1889 when Enid heard an inspiring speech from Labour leader Tom Mann, prompting her to join the Gasworkers’ Union.

"Despite her middle-class background, she empathised beyond her immediate experience and became one of the best-known female propagandists for British socialism in the late 19th century.  

"Enid was a regular public speaker, using her voice and her connections to raise awareness of equality issues. She spoke at 122 meetings in 1894 alone and toured the USA in 1902, taking her activism beyond the bounds of the UK and Ireland.

"We don’t know if Enid recognised how international the fight for social equality was at that time and how global the suffrage movement had already become by the time of her death. She didn’t live to see many of the victories of that movement, but she also didn’t see many of the ongoing struggles women, especially working-class women of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, would continue to face. 

"Enid recognised that the vote was not the only barrier to true women’s equality, as has been proved today. However, as a socialist she fundamentally believed in the need and fight for equal suffrage. It is in her recognition of some of the complexities of the women’s rights movement in the late 19th century – in the early stages of a national feminist movement - that Enid really stands out."

Portrait by Jessica Augarde Photography.

Photo of Enid Stacey reproduced with the kind permission of the Working Class Movement Library.