As a small provincial city Bath is not the sort of place that historians would expect to find militant suffrage activity. And yet the city had a thriving branch of the militant group, the Women’s Social and Political Union. Among its members were Mary Blathwayt and her mother Emily who lived at Eagle House in nearby Batheaston. Nearly all of the leading activists from the WSPU stayed at some point in Eagle House where they could rest after exhausting speaking tours or recuperate from their experiences of prison and forcible feeding. When they visited the house suffragettes were encouraged to plant a tree in ‘Annie’s Arboretum’, also known as the ‘suffragette’, field where their photographs were taken by Mary’s father, Colonel Linley Blathwayt, who was also a supporter of the movement. The three photographs reproduced here are from Colonel Linley’s extensive collection. Although we know about the suffragette field and the tree planting from documentary sources, the photographs can provide an added dimension to our understanding of the militant movement

Edwardian suffragettes were among the first protest groups to make extensive use of visual propaganda. Tickner has argued that the imagery of the movement should be seen not just as an ‘illustration of the "real" political history going on elsewhere’, but as an integral part of the conflict ‘with its own power to shape thoughts, focus debates and stimulate action’. Women artists produced drawings and cartoons for posters, postcards, banners and newspapers, but photographs also had a key part to play in drawing attention to the cause. Who can forget the striking image of Mrs Pankhurst being lifted off the ground by a policeman as she was arrested during a demonstration outside the House of Commons. Images such as these ensured that, while women for years were ‘hidden from history’, this could not be said of the suffragettes who retained their place in the history books and in popular memory. the size of the field, which is extensive, and provides a glimpse of the summer house in which suffragettes

 conventional female pose as she gazes wistfully at her tree, holding the top branch as gently as possible. The suffragettes were anxious to use imagery to counter the stereotypes put forward by their opponents that they were ‘unwomanly’, ‘mannish’ or a ‘shrieking sisterhood’.As part of their own definition of womanliness, however, they emphasised women’s ability to take militant political action and most of their photographs depict  women engaged in direct propaganda in a public space, such as demonstrations or selling their newspapers. The photographs reproduced here are unusual in showing suffragettes in a more domestic space, in peaceful and contemplative mood. They provide a reminder that suffrage campaigners also had another life in which they socialised and stayed for weekends with friends. Suffrage work took over much of their lives, but not all of them.

They were in fact ‘ordinary’ women engaged in extraordinary events. Suffragettes were aware of being members of a collective group, working together for a common cause.On the other hand the willingness of individuals to take risks and to display courage was vital for the success of the WSPU. The photographs draw attention to both these sides of the movement. The women wear the purple, white and green colours of the WSPU on their brooches, while the trees and plaques symbolise both their collective and their individual struggle. In the pictures of Annie Kenney and Elsie Howey the trees are much taller than those which have been recently planted which suggests that the movement was also growing stronger and spreading. The photographs also celebrate the achievements of individuals, in particular those who are less well known, such as Teresa Garnett and Elsie Howey. To get a real sense of the large number of different women involved, however, it is essential to look at the whole series of photographs taken by Colonel Linley which provide a unique record of the rank and file.