On 5th April 2008 about 100 members of the National Women’s Register met at Oundle School Sixth Form Club for a talk by Peter Barratt on his great-grandmother Alice Hawkins, who was a prime mover in the Suffragette movement.

Alice first attended a meeting for the Women’s Social and Political Union, commonly known as the Suffragette, in 1907 and was subsequently involved in campaigning for women’s rights. Alice was born in Leicester to a working class family; she left school at 13 to join the shoe factory where she was angered by the fact that women were paid less and their work was considered inferior to that of men.
By the time she died in 1946, Alice had been through five periods of imprisonment for protesting against the government’s refusal to give women the vote. She had the support of her husband, Alfred, who came with her to rallies, her children and her employer, Equity Shoes.

It was an important and interesting subject for these women, who often associate the Suffragette movement with the Pankhurst sisters, because many of the women are members of the NWR work or run their own business or have retired from their job, and this would not have been possible without the determination of women like Alice Hawkins.

The lecture was attended by women from groups in the area around Peterborough, and there were people from as far away as Lincolnshire and Wisbech. It was a great opportunity for local people to see the school, which is an important part of the town, and to hear a great discussion on an interesting topic. These women, from a range of age groups, attended the lecture, lunch and a quiz and then were given a tour of the chapel.

Oundle’s NWR group, run by Sue Crick, has been around for thirty five years and has women from around forty to eighty seven years old. Women come from Oundle and surrounding villages to attend day conferences, to have debates with one another and for discussions on interesting topics.
The NWR, which is a non-religious, non-political, charitable organisation (though it does not fund-raise or lobby any cause) was set up by Maureen Nichol for lively women to discuss with one another particular issues. The NWR has its own members’ magazine and a Research Bank and it organises workshops, postal book groups and penfriend networks which gives women living in remote regions the chance to contact other women and make new friends. The Annual National Conference is always popular, last year it had an excellent turn out and was held at Keele University with a Murder Mystery event and a lecture by the author Priscilla Masters.

The National Womens’ Register focuses on the needs of women, meeting twice a month at members’ homes, they can develop friendships and share experiences. The group helps to organise activities from book groups and educational outings to places of specific interest and theatre trips, which are always popular. Travelling in a group gives them an added sense of security. Some groups even twin with groups in other countries, to learn from each other through correspondence, exchange visits and possible tours. It also tries to broaden members’ horizons by introducing them to different cultures. Any woman can join the register with full membership costing £15 per year.