In 1914, the East London Federation of Suffragettes, led by Sylvia Pankhurst, split from the WSPU. Sylvia's mother and sister, Emmeline and Christabel, had encouraged her to give up her work with the poor women of East London - but Sylvia refused. Besides campaigning for women to have an equal right to vote from their headquarters in Bow, the ELFS worked on a range of equality issues which mattered to local women: they built a toy factory, providing work and a living wage for local women; they opened a subsidized canteen where women and children could get cheap, nutritious food; and they launched a nursery school, a creche, and a mother-and-baby clinic. The work of the Federation (and 'our Sylvia', as she was fondly known by locals) deserves to be remembered, and this book, filled with astonishing first-hand accounts, aims to bring this amazing story to life.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This is a new release of the original 1947 edition.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

In this fascinating and evocative book, Rosemary Taylor and Christopher Lloyd recall the extraordinary effect of wartime on the lives of the inhabitants of the East End. The Boer War and the First World War form the early part of the story but it is the momentous events of the Second World War that fill the body of the book. After the British defeat at Dunkirk and the fall of France, Hitler's Luftwaffe was within easy reach of London. The East End and the docks in particular were in the front line during the Blitz, and for five difficult years the local people faced the direct threat of German air attack. The book records their role in the world war and vividly brings back to life the everyday realities and intense atmosphere of those troubled times. The book describes the anxious initial efforts made to organize the defence of the East End in the early years of the confrontation.It goes on to record the most significant events of the time - air raid protection and the evacuation of children, the departure of men and women who went into the armed forces, the economic changes and dislocation, the Battle of Britain and the horrors and destruction of the Blitz, then the random terror of the flying bombs and the eventual victory celebrations. Rosemary Taylor and Christopher Lloyd have selected a fascinating collection of photographs from the Tower Hamlets local history archives to show the impact of war on this distinctive area of London. The work will serve as a memorial to an exceptional period in the recent past of the East End and its people.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in the East End during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places dyring this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of the East End's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the East End's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what the East End has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.