Date: June 6th
Category: Women’s History | Railway Resistance | Suffrage & Sabotage
They chained themselves to railings.
They smashed windows.
They set fire to postboxes.
But did you know the suffragettes also sabotaged the railways?
As the fight for women’s suffrage escalated in the early 20th century, the railway — symbol of Victorian order, punctuality, and patriarchal precision — became a prime target. Because when peaceful protest fell on deaf ears, the WSPU took to the tracks.
Today, The Time Traveller’s Guild uncovers the radical railway resistance of the suffragettes — and the acts of sabotage that shocked the system and electrified the movement.
🛤️ Why the Railway?
To the Edwardian establishment, the railway was more than infrastructure. It was:
- A symbol of imperial progress
- A literal and metaphorical line of male-controlled order
- A network that moved the rich in first class, and the working poor in wagons
So the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) asked:
What if we stopped the trains — until you give us the vote?
đź’Ł Railway Sabotage 101
The suffragettes weren’t playing.
Between 1911 and 1914, WSPU members carried out:
- Signal wire cuttings – to stop or delay trains without causing collisions
- Burnings of railway depots and waiting rooms
- Damage to telegraph systems
- Attacks on train carriages used by government officials
đź“° One 1913 Daily Mirror headline screamed:
“WOMEN’S WAR ON THE RAILWAYS – Suffragettes Delay Mail Train at Harrow with Wire Cutters”
They left leaflets with their initials behind — and sometimes flowers.
🚨 The Harrow Incident
In March 1913, two suffragettes were arrested after cutting signal wires outside Harrow-on-the-Hill.
- They halted a mail train.
- Caused a 90-minute delay.
- And were found with wire cutters, pamphlets, and sandwiches.
Their defence?
“We intended no harm to people. Only to the system that denies us personhood.”
🔥 Arson at the Station
Beyond sabotage, suffragettes attacked railway property:
- Leuchars Station in Fife was set ablaze in 1913
- Ealing Broadway waiting room was destroyed by firebomb
- Stirling Station and others were vandalised with acid and slogans
🎨 “Votes for Women” painted on station walls and signal boxes became a familiar sight — much to the fury of the Daily Mail.
🚆 Railway Travel as Protest
Suffragettes also used the railway strategically:
- Travelling incognito to attend banned rallies
- Carrying messages and papers across regions
- Escaping police surveillance using Bradshaw’s timetable (see June 2 post!)
Their journeys weren’t just physical — they were tactical.
đź’Ą Did It Work?
The WSPU’s railway sabotage:
- Drew national attention
- Led to harsher crackdowns — and more force-feeding in prison
- Was condemned by moderates — but admired by radicals
Ultimately, it formed part of the wider pressure that led to women’s partial suffrage in 1918, and full voting rights in 1928.
đźš‚ Suffragette Christabel Pankhurst later said:
“The nation cares more for its railways than its daughters — so we made it choose.”
đź“Ť Suffragette Railway Resistance Sites
- 🚉 Harrow-on-the-Hill Station – site of sabotage
- 🔥 Leuchars, Fife – location of famous firebomb attack
- 🏛️ Museum of London – holds a WSPU hatbox used to carry wire cutters
- 📚 Women’s Library at LSE – archives of letters, train tickets, and Bradshaw entries used by suffragettes
đź“š Want to Know More?
- Rise Up, Women! by Diane Atkinson
- The Suffragette Bombers: Britain’s Forgotten Terrorists by Simon Webb
- Suffragette Autograph Book (1912–1918) – Women’s Library Archive
- British Transport Police Historical Archive
đź’¬ Share Your Tribute: #SuffragetteSabotage
Wearing purple, white, and green today? Planning a suffrage-themed journey or art piece?
Share it with #SuffragetteSabotage and tag @TimeTravellersGuild — we’ll feature your stories in our June mid-month roundup.
