Irene Dallas and Hilda Dallas
BornHilda Mary Dallas born 1878 Irene Dallas born 1883
Hilda Dallas, Japan Irene Dallas, not known
DiedHilda Dallas, 1958 Irene Dallas, alive in 1912, death date not known
Hilda Dallas, London, England Irene Dallas, not known
CitizenshipBritish
Occupation(s)Hilda Dallas, Artist and suffragette Irene Dallas, suffragette
OrganisationWomen's Social and Political Union
Known forHilda Dallas – poster artwork for women's suffrage Irene Dallas - protest activism, parades and imprisonment

Irene Dallas (born 1883) and Hilda Dallas (1878–1958) were British suffragette sisters: Hilda, an artist, designed publicity material, Irene, a protester was imprisoned[1] for political reasons, and both sisters also boycotted the 1911 Census.

Life

Irene Dallas (born 1883) and her elder sister Hilda Mary Dallas (1878–1958)[2][3] who was an artist, who was born in Japan to an English father who was a Ming dealer, but left them poor when he died,[4] during their 20s. Hilda came to London to study art and the sisters became early members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), the suffragettes, taking part in activist protest events, leading to prison sentences for Irene.[5] Hilda designed posters for WSPU newspaper Votes for Women and its successor organisation.[6] The sisters both boycotted the 1911 Census, whilst resident at 36 St George's Mansions, Red Lion Square as a protest at being counted by the British government whilst denied the right to vote for it.[6] Later in life Hilda designed stage scenery and costumes, as well as illustrated books, and became a Christian Scientist.[4]

Suffragette activism

Hilda Dallas was seen in a poster parade encouraging women to come to the demonstration at the House of Commons on 30 June 1908 with Dorothy Hartopp Radcliffe, Charlotte Marsh and Dora Spong in the Strand earlier in June 1908. The image is in the Museum of London.[7]

Hilda Dallas (third from left) in poster parade in June 1908

Irene Dallas was studying mathematics whilst already in prison and the prison governor wrote, on 9 October 1908, to the Home Office, for permission for her to be sent an Algebra and Geometry and a Trigonometry book, as she was preparing for the Cambridge University entrance examinations. The governor remarked in his letter that 'A lady who runs the risk of imprisonment has presumably calculated that her action is of more importance to her than her prospects of getting into Cambridge.'[8] However permission was given on the 'usual' understanding that the books would be 'donated to the prison library'.[8]

Hilda Dallas was an artist, involved in the Suffragette Atelier, from 1909, which trained and supported artists to create media in favour of women's suffrage. Hilda Dallas designed a poster for Votes for Women the WSPU publication, and later redesigned a poster featuring Joan of Arc when the paper became The Suffragette.[9] Hilda Dallas trained at the Slade School of Art (1910–11).[10]

Hilda Dallas's poster for Votes for Women

On 25 January 1909, Irene Dallas went in a taxi with Katherine Douglas Smith and Frances Bartlett[5] to 10 Downing Street, after Lucy Norris and Mary Clarke had been turned away from seeing the Prime Minister, H.H.Asquith. Dallas and the others crossed a triple strength police cordon, asked to see the Prime Minister and, as with the earlier three women, had tried to 'force their way' in,[11] and all were arrested,[5] and imprisoned at Holloway alongside Constance Lytton who had refused to do that particular 'disagreeable job', and felt remorse later.[12]

Miss Dallas was the secretary to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) fife and drum band which performed at a women's suffrage event at the Prince's Ice Rink in May 1909 and in following weeks played outside to 'inspire' hunger-striking suffragettes in Holloway Prison.[5]

Irene Dallas had a role in organising the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) protest procession in June 1910,[13] and had colour co-ordinated the banners coming from different unions[5] which can be seen along with the WSPU fife and drum band in films of the procession.

At the 1911 Census, both sisters were marked as 'evaders', when women refused their legal duty to be counted in the population census as they viewed that they were not 'citizens', since being unable to vote.[6] At Christmas 1912, both sisters were with Christabel Pankhurst in Paris.[4] Hilda Dallas died in 1958,[3] Irene Dallas's death is unknown.

References

  1. ↑ Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners 1905-1914. 1960.
  2. ↑ "A poster advertising the weekly suffragette newspaper Votes for Women: 1909, Hilda Dallas". Museum of London Prints. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 "DALLAS Hilda 1878-1958 | Artist Biographies". www.artbiogs.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Crawford, Elizabeth (AV audio), London School of Economics and Political. "Who were Suffrage Artists: lives revealed". Suffrage 18: a centenary exploration at LSE. 00:25:34 to 00:31:26. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Crawford, Elizabeth (1999). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: UCL Press. pp. 32, 33, 38. ISBN 0-203-03109-1. OCLC 53836882.
  6. 1 2 3 Liddington, Jill (2014). Vanishing for the vote: Suffrage, citizenship and the battle for the census. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 250. ISBN 9781847798886.
  7. ↑ "Poster Parade of Suffragettes". collections.museumoflondon.org.uk. June 1908. 50.82/1762. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 Marlow, Joyce (3 September 2015). Suffragettes: the fight for votes for women. London. ISBN 978-0-349-00775-5. OCLC 932057015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ "The Suffragette 1d Weekly | Dallas, Hilda | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "'Votes for Women', 1909. Artist: Hilda Dallas # 1192222 - Heritage Images". www.heritage-images.com. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Atkinson, Diane (2018). Rise up, women!: the remarkable lives of the suffragettes. London: Bloomsbury. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-4088-4404-5. OCLC 1016848621.
  12. ↑ Lytton, Constance (2011). Prisons and Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-511-69476-9. OCLC 889952010.
  13. ↑ Meeres, Frank (2013). Suffragettes: how Britain's women fought & died for the right to vote. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4456-2057-2. OCLC 1100692646.
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