Annie Townley - Bristol Radical History Group

Annie Townley (1878-1966)

Annie Townley: A force for socialism and peace describes a remarkable journey from working-class Lancashire textile mill worker to employment as a Bristol-based organiser in the suffrage and labour movements. In many cases using Annie’s own words, June Hannam brings to life a character dedicated to working-women’s rights and social justice.

“Some of us who have been called dreamers and who believe in Socialism, wonder if it had not been better for our City Fathers to have opened their hearts and purse strings in the account books of the city and started for these factory girls a real home industry … We are a nation of shoddy clothes individuals. Some day I hope there will be no goods manufactured cheap and nasty for profit, but pure and wholesome for use.”

Reviews

June Hannam has given us a remarkable account of the life and times of Annie Townley, a working-class woman from Blackburn who played an important part in building the suffrage movement and Labour Party in Bristol in the first half of the twentieth century.

Annie was active in the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the Independent Labour Party (ILP) . She had married Ernest Townley in 1901 and they had two children, whilst being active members of the ILP. The politics of this organisation was to influence Annie throughout her life. She was passionate about creating a fair and equal society, recognising that winning the right to vote was not an end in itself.

Her commitment and skills led Annie to be appointed as a full-time official for the NUWSS in 1912, focusing on building their Election Fighting Fund. After working successfully on election campaigns in the north and Scotland, Annie and Ernie moved to Bristol in 1913 and remained there for the rest of their lives.

Hannam has used a wide variety of sources, excellently referenced in the footnotes and bibliography, to paint a picture of Annie’s work in the city. Of particular interest is her campaigning against the First World War and conscription, in the face of opposition not only from local reactionary forces but also from the official Labour Party and many in the NUWSS. Ernie was jailed in January 2018 for being a conscientious objector and only released in April 1919 causing personal and financial hardship to Annie and their two teenage daughters.

The gaining of the right to vote for women over 30 in 1918, coincided with the Labour Party changing from simply a group of MPs and committees to an individual membership party. It recognised the value of recruiting women into membership and Annie’s activity over the past decade had shown her organising skills. In 1920 she was employed as one of nine female South West Regional Organisers by the Labour Party, to focus on recruiting women into membership and organising women’s sections. It was a rare achievement in the early twentieth century for a woman to gain such a full-time paid job.

Annie’s unique organising skills and political acumen led her to become a central figure in the Labour Party, both in the South West and at national level. Her life was intertwined with her organising role and her family who supported her throughout.

This book is a valuable insight into the development of the Labour Party in the early twentieth century, Hannam gives a vivid and moving account of a woman whose mantra was socialism and peace, and dedicated her life to attempting to achieve her goal.

Dr Eileen Turnbull

Researcher and Secretary, Shrewsbury 24 Campaign