More information : No. 400 Old Ford Road, London, was the headquarters of the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS) which opened on 5 May 1914.
The ELFS was an organisation lead by Sylvia Pankhurst which campaigned for women's suffrage. She believed that the most successful way to achieve enfranchisement was to rouse support among the working class women of the East End.
The ELFS was initially been run under the umbrella of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), however in Janurary 1914 Christabel Pankhurst asked them to separate from the WSPU. An ELF minute taken at the meeting where this decision was taken was quoted as saying:
'We had more faith in what could be done by stirring up working women than was felt at headquarters, while they had most faith in what could be done for the vote by people of means of influence.'
Unlike the WSPU, the ELFS had a democratic structure, while their policy was to '..combine large-scale public demonstrations with public militancy, that is, window-smashing that attracted immediate arrest, rather than secret arson.'
During the First World War the ELFS carried out humanitarian work and campaigned for 'Human Suffrage' which would enfranchise all men and women over 21. They changed their name to the Worker's Suffrage Federation in March 1916. (1)
This website contains detailed information about the life and work of Sylvia Pankhurst. (2)
While it isn't listed in this edition of the Post Office London Directory, No. 400 Old Ford Road would have been located between Hewlett Road and Ford Street. (3)
Please see TQ3631983547 on OS map dated 2007 (MasterMap). While there's no building currently on this spot, it is next to No. 402 Old Ford Road, London. (4)
Please see TQ3631983547 on OS map dated 1916. Hewlett Road and Ford Street are clearly marked. (5)
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