A sister of that famous soldier, General French, Mrs. Despard, who has been to prison as the result of her vigorous manner of protesting against the unenfranchised state of the women of this country, frankly confesses that she was always of an independent character, and always a bit of a rebel. When she was ten she ran away from the beautiful home of her parents at Ripple, Kent, with the idea of becoming a servant in London and helping the children of the slums, and although she was fetched back, she was always looking forward to the time when she might realise her dreams of helping the masses. Migrating from Ripple to York, she visited the slums of that city, and when she came to London in 1870 - the year she married Mr. Despard - she lost no time in making herself acquainted with the conditions and needs of the less fortunate. And it was the contrast of her own lot and surroundings - she then lived in a lovely house at Esher and took great pride in her garden - with that of the poor of London, which led her, after her husband's death, to live in a mean street in Nine Elms, where, amongst other things, she ran a club for poor boys. Ultimately she became a member of the Socialist and Labour Parties and a Suffragist, and has proved herself a genuine, whole-hearted worker in the cause of those who cannot help themselves.

Mrs. Despard

Mrs. Despard