At a time when war raged across Europe, Ivy Benson was calling her own tune. The pioneering musician and band leader, who was born in Holbeck, became something of a celebrity when war gave her a chance to break into the world of big bands. In fact her All Girls Orchestra became the BBC’s…
Keep ReadingThey were the formidable Leeds campaigners whose courage and determination helped women across the country finally win their long fight for the right to vote. Now a century later, one of their home city’s biggest cultural celebrations is looking to shed new light on the stories of stalwart Suffragettes Leonora Cohen and Mary Gawthorpe.…
Keep ReadingInspirational women who have blazed a trail through history are being celebrated in an empowering new exhibition in Leeds. A Woman’s Place? opens at Kirkstall’s Abbey House Museum this weekend and marks the centenary of the first British women getting the right to vote as well as celebrating the quiet heroism of ordinary women.…
Keep ReadingPart of a new display exploring the often tempestuous history of protests, this Suffragette’s badge is a small but poignant reminder of the struggle women once endured to secure the right to vote. The badge is one of three currently on display at Leeds City Museum, paying tribute to the local and national Suffrage…
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