As part of our IWD celebrations we welcomed guest speaker Louise Raw, historian from Women Also Know History, who gave a gripping talk about the teenage Suffragettes and the courageous Victorian women who went on strike at their East End match factory over their dismal pay and working conditions.

As well as recounting these significant movements in history, Louise spoke about shifting our focus to the active role of women in history in general - as she pointed out, the Match Girls' Strike took place in the same year as Jack the Ripper victimised women, and yet that story is much more widely known.

We are grateful for Louise's engaging presentation, which  provided much to reflect upon.