Annie Kenney

Annie Kenney
Annie Kenney in 1909
Born	September 13, 1879 Springhead, United Kingdom
Died	July 9, 1953 Hitchin, United Kingdom

Annie Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working class suffragette who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She attracted the attention of the press and the public in 1905 when she, and Christabel Pankhurst, were imprisoned for several days for assault and obstruction, after heckling Sir Edward Grey at a Liberal rally in Manchester on the issue of votes for women. This incident is credited with inaugurating a new phase in the struggle for women's suffrage in the UK, with the adoption of .

Annie was born in Springhead, Saddleworth, in the former West Riding of Yorkshire, on 13 September 1879, the 4th daughter (of 12 children) of Nelson Horatio Kenney (1849-1912) and Anne Wood (1852-1905); the family was poor and working class, and Kenney started part-time work in a local cotton mill at the age of 10, as well as attending school; turning full-time at 13 – which involved 12-hour shifts from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening. She was employed as a "tenter", a weaver's assistant, part of her job being to fit the bobbins and to attend to the strands of fleece when they broke; during one such operation, one of her fingers was ripped off by a spinning bobbin. She remained at the mill for 15 years, becoming involved in trade-union activities, furthering her education through self-study, and promoting the study of literature amongst her work colleagues – inspired by Robert Blatchford's publication, The Clarion; she was also a regular church attender .

Kenney became actively involved in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) after hearing Christabel Pankhurst speak at the Oldham Clarion Vocal Club in 1905.

During a Liberal rally at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, in October 1905, Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst interrupted a political meeting to ask Churchill and Sir Edward Grey if they believed women should have the right to vote. Neither man replied. The two women got out a banner declaring "Votes for Women", and shouted at the two politicians to answer their questions. Kenney and Pankhurst were thrown out of the meeting and arrested for causing an obstruction and a technical assault on a police officer. Annie Kenney was imprisoned for three days for her part in the protest, and 13 times in total.