Welcome

Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.

Search the map

Thumbnail image of Wales,

New to Gathering the Jewels is G.I.S. A geographical search facility that will enable searching by location and place name.

Topics

Home » Protest and Politics » Political parties » Political speeches

Displaying results 1 to 3 out of 3

Page 1

  • This badly-damaged but rare photograph shows Mrs Pankhurst, the prominent suffragette, addressing a crowd at the Castle Square, Haverfordwest. It was probably taken in 1908, when Mrs Pankhurst and other leading suffragettes canvassed during the by-election of that year. The suffragettes had come to campaign against the Liberal candidate, Mr Roch, because Mr Asquith, the Liberal Prime Minister, was opposed to the enfranchisement of women. Their efforts were unsuccessful (the Liberal candidate romped home) but, despite hostility from the local press, the suffragettes in Pembrokeshire were, on the whole, treated with courtesy. This was in marked contrast to their reception in many other localites. Suffragettes were often subjected to very harsh treatment, such as being pelted with rotten eggs or bags of flour, stripped of some of their garments or even beaten with sticks and umbrellas. The 'Suffragettes' derived their name from the word 'suffrage' - meaning the right to vote - and campaigned tirelessly, and often with great personal sacrifice, for the right of women to vote in elections. They met with partial success in 1918, when women of property over the age of 30 were permitted to vote. However, it was not until 1928 that women gained full equality with men in terms of their voting rights.
Mrs Pankhurst, the prominent suffragette, speaking at Haverfordwest, c.1908
  • Copy of a speech regarding the Spanish Civil War made by David Lloyd George in the House of Commons on 28 October 1937.
David Lloyd George, 'Spain and Britain' (1937) [front cover, image 1 of 19]
  • The American Roller Rink, a massive corrugated iron structure in Westgate Street, Cardiff, adjacent to the General Post Office, was opened in 1908. Over the years, thousands of Cardiffians came to the rink to learn how to waltz on roller skates to the music of a brass band. It also played host to a number of other sporting and political events: it was here that the Cardiff-born boxer 'Peerless Jim Driscoll (1880-1925) fought Freddy Welsh (1886-1927) in front of a 10,000 crowd, and it was also the venue for a number of political meetings, addressed by both Herbert Henry Asquith and David Lloyd George in their time. The Roller Rink was eventually dismantled after the First World War, and re-erected in Mill Road, Ely, where it was used for the construction of concrete panels for houses in Caerau Square.
The American Roller Rink, Westgate Street, Cardiff, 1908