Not stated

37

Single

91 Fentiman Road, Lambeth, London

WFL

Resists

Violet (1874 - 1922) had a half sister Irene who was also involved with the suffrage movement. Violet was the eldest, born to the same father as Irene, name army officer George Tillard, but to his first wife, Louisa. Violet was a nurse and had trained at the Poplar and Great Ormond Street hospitals. She had already been involved in the suffrage movement at least a year before the WFL tour van arrived in her home town in 1908. Muriel Matters and Charlotte Despard were on board and their first stop on the Kent tour was Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells. Sisters Violet and Irene Tillard ran out to greet the van and then joined the tour. Violet and Muriel would remain lifelong friends, even boarding together in London in later years, and continued to campaign for women’s suffrage. Both were involved on 28 October 1908 in the large demonstration at the Palace of Westminster. Violet and Muriel together with Helen Fox and two male supporters went to the Houses of Parliament. Muriel and Helen chained themselves to a piece of ironwork known as ‘the grille’ in the Ladies’ Gallery that obscured their view of the parliamentary proceedings. Violet used string to attempt to lower a WFL proclamation ‘Women’s Freedom League demand votes for women’ to the floor of Parliament, while the two male supporters showered those in the House of Commons with WFL leaflets. All were removed from the House of Commons. Violet and Muriel then joined their comrades protesting outside and were later arrested trying to break the police lines. Both served a month in Holloway Prison. By 1911, Violet was boarding with Muriel Matters and Margaret Jewson in Lambeth. On her census Violet wrote: “No Vote No Census. Should women become persons in the eye of the law this session - full information will be forwarded.” The whereabouts of her half sister Irene is currently being investigated. She was not with her parents in Westwood, Southborough and may have been 'evading'. For more information see, Jennifer Godfrey, Suffragettes of Kent, (Pen & Sword Ltd, 2019). Researched & contributed by Jennifer Godfrey.