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7 Kingston House North, Princes Gate, S.W.7.—Thanks him for his kind letter and for a copy of Dame Christabel Pankhurst’s book (Unshackled).

(Addis Ababa.)—Has been moved by Christabel’s book (Unshackled). Is planning to write a memoir of her father, and asks for help in procuring his letters.

(Addis Ababa.)—Thanks him for a copy of her sister’s book (Unshackled), and discusses the references in it to herself.

P.O. Box 1896, Addis Ababa.—Declines his offer of a second copy of Christabel’s book. Her father’s letters to her mother should be included in her memoir of him, but they are in the hands of someone outside the family.

P.O. Box 1896, Addis Ababa.—Is writing a biography of her father. Asks for help in obtaining his letters to her mother, which are in the possession of Grace Roe, her sister’s executrix.

P.O. Box 1896, Addis Ababa.—The names of her parents’ first two sons are not given correctly in her sister’s book.

India House.—Accepts an invitation to the unveiling of a memorial to Christabel Pankhurst. Agrees to write a letter regarding her feelings and those of many Indian women towards Christabel Pankhurst’s work, but points out that Indian women derived their impetus to progress not from their British sisters but from the freedom struggle under Gandhi.

Longmeadow, Street, Somerset.—Discusses his feelings towards Christabel and Emmeline Pankhurst, and declines to contribute to the cost of a statue of the latter.

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Transcript

Longmeadow, Street, Somerset
Nov 27th 1958

Dear Pethick Lawrence

(If I may drop formality in memory of old days) I was very glad to hear from you: but I am 94 and am a rather worn-out old man. You may be surprised to hear that Miss Pankhurst has never appealed to me: her companion (Annie Kenny†.) did. She and I did not like each other. There was a silly Suffragette fable, that I was in love with her: and that she had made our marriage conditional on their getting the vote. Mrs Pankhurst I liked & respected; but I did not approve of the section which indulged in violence and destruction. Also I disliked that final triumphal procession along Picadilly† to curry favour with the Government when War broke out. Also she tied some Australian Prime Minister to her tail. The tragic moment to my mind was when she had got as far as a public meeting in London, when the Police were after her. She had managed to get there, and was just about to speak, when the Police broke in. “Women! They are taking me!” she cried. The women all jumped to their feet, but not (as she had hoped) to become violent. “You brutes!” was all they cried. Whereas she had wanted a real battle! And if a few women and police got killed,—all the better for the cause.

So that’s that! And you can leave me out of your subscribers for any additions to Mrs Pankhurst’s Statue in Westminster[.]

I wonder whether you know that I have become a member of “the Society of Friends” and as “a Quaker” am now a staunch Pacifist! Thus you & I have become far separated in our ideas; but not in our old friendship, I hope.

Ever yours very sincerely
Laurence Housman

PS. I’m afraid I have mislaid your present address, with the letter I received from you. LH

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† Sic.

Thanks him for the book (see 1/9). Is helping to raise money for a memorial to Christabel Pankhurst and editing a book by her (Unshackled).

(Addis Ababa.)—Thanks Lady Pethick-Lawrence for an account of the celebra-tion of her mother (Emmeline Pankhurst)’s centenary. Suggests ideas for a suitable memorial (for Christabel?), and recalls the courageous actions of Princess Tsahai.

P.O. Box 1896, Addis Ababa.—Thanks him for a copy of his speech at the memorial service (for Dame Christabel Pankhurst). Reflects on the suffrage movement and the the Pethick-Lawrences’ contributions to it.

(Letter-head of the Ethiopia Observer. Sylvia Pankhurst is named as Editor.)

11 Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn, London, W.C.2.—Has discussed with Fulford the shortcomings of his book, and expects that it will be improved if there is a second edition. He and Helen are planning to visit Switzerland and India, after which Helen will visit her children in California.

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Fulford has agreed to make some alterations to his book, but it is fundamentally unsound.

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Is negotiating with the BBC about taking part in the television programme on suffragettes. Discusses Fulford’s forthcoming book (Votes for Women).

11 Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn, London, W.C.2.—Declines to advise on whether she should take part in the television programme on suffragettes. Has complied with the BBC’s suggestions in order to put across what he thinks should be said.

(Pethick-Lawrence has added a handwritten note recording that he wrote again on the 17th giving her the gist of Thomas’s first paragraph (the meaning this is unclear) and saying that he would endeavour to correct Fulford’s bias.)

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Explains why she has decided not to take part in the television programme on suffragettes.

Is concerned about the proposed television programme on suffragettes.

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Is uncertain whether to contribute to the television programme on suffragettes.

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Discusses the proposed BBC television programme on the suffrage movement (‘First Hand: Suffragettes’), and queries whether the constitutional nature of the WSPU’s policy has been generally recognised.

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Praises his speech on the admission of women to the House of Lords. Refers to a forthcoming book on the suffrage movement (Roger Fulford’s Votes for Women) and to the death of Lorna Goulden Buck. ‘The signs and the portents in the Middle East may be pointing to Armageddon.’

943 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California.—Reflects on their shared experiences, and discusses news of the women’s movement. Thanks him for helping to get her mother’s statue moved, and criticises her mother’s entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

(Carbon copy of a typed original.)

New Alliance Club, 8 Cavendish Square, W.1.—Thanks her for her congratulations (on her DBE), and reflects on their personal connections and the significance of the honour.