Fonds GB 106 7WAR - ADAIR-ROBERTS, Winifred

Identity area

Reference code

GB 106 7WAR

Title

ADAIR-ROBERTS, Winifred

Date(s)

  • c 1909-1913 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

0.25 A box (1 folder)

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Winifred Adair-Roberts (fl 1910-1974) was brought up in Hampstead, the seventh child of a family of nine; all girls bar one. Her parents were Irish and her father co-owned a chemical works (Boke, Roberts) in Stratford. It moved to Walthamstow in 1974. Winifred was educated at private schools including, briefly, St. Felix, South Wold and Polam Hall (Durham). Winifred also attended a short course at the Gloucester Domestic Science College. She did voluntary work with the 'Women's Voluntary Reserve' in the First World War but did no paid work as she seems to have suffered lifelong poor health. In an interview conducted by Professor Brian Harrison, c 1974, Winifred was thought to be well into her eighties. In the interview she described her family background. All seven sisters went to school (several boarding schools are specified) and to college. She also recalled selling Votes for Women standing in the gutter on Finchley Road, near John Barnes store and stewarding at large Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) meetings. She claimed to have brought hot dinners (cooked at home in Hampstead) to Mrs Pankhurst, hiding out in the WSPU office at Lincolns Inn. They were smuggled in under the noses of the police. Her eldest sister, Muriel, a doctor, was imprisoned as part of the suffrage protests. Ethel, a PE specialist, was apparently good at helping to hide Mrs Pankhurst, who apparently looked like 'Dresden China'.

Repository

Archival history

GB 106 7WAR c 1909-1913 fonds 0.25 A box (1 folder) Roberts , Winifred , Adair- , fl1910-1974 , suffragette

Winifred Adair-Roberts (fl 1910-1974) was brought up in Hampstead, the seventh child of a family of nine; all girls bar one. Her parents were Irish and her father co-owned a chemical works (Boke, Roberts) in Stratford. It moved to Walthamstow in 1974. Winifred was educated at private schools including, briefly, St. Felix, South Wold and Polam Hall (Durham). Winifred also attended a short course at the Gloucester Domestic Science College. She did voluntary work with the 'Women's Voluntary Reserve' in the First World War but did no paid work as she seems to have suffered lifelong poor health. In an interview conducted by Professor Brian Harrison, c 1974, Winifred was thought to be well into her eighties. In the interview she described her family background. All seven sisters went to school (several boarding schools are specified) and to college. She also recalled selling Votes for Women standing in the gutter on Finchley Road, near John Barnes store and stewarding at large Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) meetings. She claimed to have brought hot dinners (cooked at home in Hampstead) to Mrs Pankhurst, hiding out in the WSPU office at Lincolns Inn. They were smuggled in under the noses of the police. Her eldest sister, Muriel, a doctor, was imprisoned as part of the suffrage protests. Ethel, a PE specialist, was apparently good at helping to hide Mrs Pankhurst, who apparently looked like 'Dresden China'.

Deposited by Miss Winifred Adair Roberts, through Dr Brian Harrison of Corpus Christi College. Precise date of acquisition unknown, but c 1974. Rediscovered during the move of the Library, 2002 among 'unsorted archival miscellany' and formally accessioned, July 2003.

The archive consists of correspondence and memorabilia relating to Adair-Roberts' involvement in the women's suffrage movement. It comprises a signed photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst in prison costume, [1909]; a 'broad arrow' pin badge as worn by suffragettes after imprisonment, [1912]; menu for the celebratory breakfast held by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) on the release of Muriel Roberts and other suffragettes from Holloway Prison, Mar 1909; a telegram from Sylvia Pankhurst to Miss Adair Roberts; a letter to Adair Roberts from Beatrice Saunders of the WSPU, Nov 1913.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

English

The Women's Library Catalogue

The Women's Library holds an oral history interview with Mrs Roberts (see 8SUF) and a handkerchief with suffragette signatures collected and embroidered by Mrs Roberts. The Women's Library holds the records of a number of militant, Women's Social & Political Union members, including Emily Wilding Davison (7EWD) and Louisa Garrett Anderson (7LGA). The records of the Women's Social and Political Union are held at The Museum of London. The Women's Library Printed Collections also holds a number of publications by the Women's Social and Political Union.

Finding aid created by export from CALM v7.2.14 Archives Hub EAD2002. Edited for AIM25 by Sarah Drewery.

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

07/03/2008 Roberts , Winifred , Adair- , fl 1910 , suffragette Women Organizations Associations Womens organizations Prisoners Disadvantaged groups Electoral systems Internal politics Womens suffrage Pankhurst , Emmeline , 1858-1928 , nee Goulden , suffragist Pankhurst , Estelle Sylvia , 1882-1960 , suffragist and political campaigner Women's Social and Political Union Holloway Prison Sex Sex distribution

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Deposited by Miss Winifred Adair Roberts, through Dr Brian Harrison of Corpus Christi College. Precise date of acquisition unknown, but c 1974. Rediscovered during the move of the Library, 2002 among 'unsorted archival miscellany' and formally accessioned, July 2003.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The archive consists of correspondence and memorabilia relating to Adair-Roberts' involvement in the women's suffrage movement. It comprises a signed photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst in prison costume, [1909]; a 'broad arrow' pin badge as worn by suffragettes after imprisonment, [1912]; menu for the celebratory breakfast held by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) on the release of Muriel Roberts and other suffragettes from Holloway Prison, Mar 1909; a telegram from Sylvia Pankhurst to Miss Adair Roberts; a letter to Adair Roberts from Beatrice Saunders of the WSPU, Nov 1913.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

The Women's Library holds an oral history interview with Mrs Roberts (see 8SUF) and a handkerchief with suffragette signatures collected and embroidered by Mrs Roberts. The Women's Library holds the records of a number of militant, Women's Social & Political Union members, including Emily Wilding Davison (7EWD) and Louisa Garrett Anderson (7LGA). The records of the Women's Social and Political Union are held at The Museum of London. The Women's Library Printed Collections also holds a number of publications by the Women's Social and Political Union.

Finding aids

The Women's Library Catalogue

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Women's Library

Rules and/or conventions used

In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area