Helena Gutteridge (8 April 1879 – 1 October 1960) was a British-born Canadian feminist, suffragist, trade unionist and the first female city councillor in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
She was recognized for being a pioneer, pushing for women's rights during a time when gender equality was not yet a prominent social movement. A leading advocate for women’s rights in British Columbia, she campaigned for voting rights, fair wages, and equal employment for women, and for social reforms during the early decades of the twentieth century.
Early life and background She was born in Victorian England in Battersea, London, to Charles Henry Gutteridge and his wife Sophia Richardson.
They had their first daughter Emily in 1877 and their second daughter Helena Rose (known as Nell to her family) on 8 April 1879. The couple eventually had four more children.
At the time of her birth, a smallpox outbreak was underway and 64 cases of smallpox had already been reported. By the third year of the rapidly spreading disease, a critical epidemic had developed throughout the country.
Gutteridge lost a brother at the age of two months from whooping cough. A lack of sanitation and hygiene measures marked her childhood.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 15. .
Her father was born in 1854 in the Hampshire village of Micheldever, situated an hour away from London. He was from a family of blacksmiths and perpetuated the tradition by taking over his own father's forge. At the age of twenty, he left Micheldever and went to London to find work. He then married the daughter of a labourer, Sophia Richardson, in 1876. Sophia, Gutteridge's mother, was born in 1858 in Marylebone district, London. They both settled in the Wandsworth area of Battersea, and Charles found work with the local blacksmith.
Charles found work as a labourer in Chelsea, and the family moved from Battersea. However, at this time Chelsea was being redeveloped, and a new class of people living in the suburbs and working in the city was buying and reconstructing the area. The family was a victim of gentrification and had to move further from the centre every two to three years, to give way to fashionable boutiques or professional offices.
The Cadogan family comprised the main landlords in Chelsea and directed most investment companies in the destruction and reconstruction of the city. Charles found employment in the reconstruction industry. Her childhood was defined by their constant relocation due to the radical transformation of Chelsea. The family was continuously on the move to escape the wreckers.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 6–11. .
Education Until the age of 13, Gutteridge attended the Holy Trinity Church School where she learned basic reading, writing, arithmetics, history and poetry. Students were constantly reminded that they were indebted to the Cadogan Family for their education. As such, the idea of class difference became ingrained from a young age. The consequence of class difference further manifested in her life when she had to stop attending school because education was only accessible to the privileged class which could afford private schools. Besides class difference, gender discrimination also denied her access to further education. For a working-class family in London in the late 1890s, education was not a priority for girls and her family decided to fund the education of their sons instead of daughters. This decision planted the seed of feminism in young Gutteridge and marked her lifelong commitment to change the prejudices and unfair treatments that women face.
To continue pursuing an education, Gutteridge left home at the age of 14 and gradually lost touch with her family.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. . She began supporting herself while attending Regent Street Polytechnic School and the Royal Sanitary Institute. At the Royal Sanitary Institute, she received a South Kensington Department of Education certificate in teaching and sanitary science, which equipped her with relevant and necessary knowledge and skills to manage the political scene of Vancouver when she became a city councillor in 1937.
To support herself while continuing to receive an education, Gutteridge worked as an apprentice in a draper's shop, where she started off by running errands and gradually moved up to high positions such as sewer, cutter, fitter. Eventually, she became a tailor at the John Lewis establishment on Oxford street, which was a notable position for a woman in the 1880s. The shop provided food and room for its workers.
Three to four people were accommodated in every room, and no personal items were allowed. Furthermore, it was forbidden to get married while working there. This living system allowed the employer to not pay decent wages to its employees. Despite working twelve hours every weekday and half a day on Saturday for an extremely low wage, she understood that economic independence was critical for her to receive equal treatment and to continue attending school. Her experience then also informed her later decision to fight for equal wages between men and women in British Columbia.
Gutteridge completely lost contact with her family, except for her sister Emily. It was mainly her nephew Thomas Charles Gutteridge who recalled family life as he was sent to live with his grandparents.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 28. .From 1893 to 1911, while working as a tailor in London to support herself and to fund her education, she was also actively engaged with the female suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), which provided her with ample political experiences and skills that laid the foundation of her political career.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 38–47. . In September 1911, Gutteridge set sail for the westernmost part of Canada. She immediately became actively involved in the female suffrage movement in Vancouver and spent most of her time there helping women who faced economic hardships.
Personal life At forty years old, Gutteridge married Oliver Fearn, a twenty-six-year-old poultry farmer, in October 1919. The couple settled outside of Vancouver, in a rural community named Mount Lehman. The area was deprived of electricity and running water. Commerce was primarily conducted with paddle-wheel steamboats, but she did not experience social isolation. She was looking for calm and peace and spent her days taking care of the farm between 1921 and 1931. She enjoyed the sense of a nuclear family found in this community. She grew fond of the community and found valuable relationships among the families of farmers surrounding her.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 137–142. .
Even in this rural situation, she was engaged in women's rights and its surrounding issues within society. She even founded a branch of the women's institute in Mount Lehman. Gutteridge was involved in the literary and debate society of the region. She enjoyed this community life and hard physical work. The couple did not have any children. Ollie committed adultery with Rose Dennison, a widow with four children. During this era, social standards and legislation served men more advantageously. As a result, Gutteridge was humiliated and blamed for not being good enough as a wife to keep her husband loyal. She did not ask for a divorce, but Oliver petitioned to annul his marriage, saying he did not want to commit bigamy. Gutteridge didn't mind the humiliation, and the divorce was granted in 1928. She took care of the farm for a few more years before heading back to Vancouver in 1932.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 146–151. .
Career
Political career
Suffrage Movement in London, England Gutteridge began her lifelong involvement in politics and social reforms with the Women's Suffrage Movement in the United Kingdom and her engagement with the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). The WSPU was a progressive women-only organization that campaigned for female suffrage. A main theme that resonated through their activities was "Votes for Women".Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 38–41. .
Through the WSPU, she received ample guidance and training on making persuasive and emotive public speeches. She was also widely recognized within the organization for her leadership potential and managerial skills. Throughout 1910, the sight of Gutteridge making public speeches and staging massive processions together with other militant suffragists, such as Marie Brackenbury, became frequent scenes on the streets of London. Furthermore, she learned public speaking and techniques of activism from militant suffragists such as Emmeline Pankhurst.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 38–40. .
The suffrage movement by the WSPU had widespread international influence and repercussions. A member of a sub-division of WSPU told the then Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden that "We are not a national association, but an Imperial one…And these members in Canada have asked us to help them and to instruct them... We have members who have emigrated there." British suffragists sought to validate their domestic movement by incorporating the enfranchisement of women living in the greater imperial territory.Howard, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 46. .
As part of the WSPU's effort to vitalize the suffrage movement in Canada, Gutteridge was sent to the westernmost region of Canada. On 8 September 1911, she boarded the Empress of Ireland and set sail for Quebec. Upon her arrival, she continued her journey towards British Columbia via the Canadian Pacific Railway. What was intended to be a short stay eventually turned out to be a lifelong commitment to achieve gender equality in British ColumbiaHoward, Irene (1992). The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 46–47. .
Suffrage Movement in British Columbia, Canada The central vessels of the suffrage movement in British Columbia from 1910 to 1917 included the Women's Temperance Union, the National Council of Women, the University Women's Club and the BC Political Equality League. Out of all pro-suffrage political organizations, the Political Equality League, an organization that focused on achieving female suffrage, gained the most momentum among working middle-class women initially. Efforts at securing women's access to the ballot by the Political Equality League at this stage, however, were generally ineffective. To rekindle the suffrage movement, the league then branched out into smaller and more action-oriented organizations such as the British Columbia Women Suffrage League, the Women's Freedom Union and the Equal Franchise Association. Out of the three new branches, the Women Suffrage League founded by Gutteridge turned out to be the most successful.Hale, Linda Louise. 1977. "The British Columbia Woman Suffrage Movement, 1890–1917." Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 1919–2007.