Miss Olive Hockin

Other sources: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4769024
https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw70648/Olive-Leared-ne-Hockin?LinkID=mp65453&role=sit&rNo=1
Elizabeth Crawford, The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866?1928 (1999)

Additional Information: Olive most likely joined the WSPU in 1912 and helped to prepare banners for a Hyde Park rally. In March 1913, the police carried out a raid on Olive's flat after a couple of newspapers with her name and address on them had been left at the scene of an arson attack at Roehampton Golf Club ? the handwriting was verifed by the local newsagent. The police described their discoveries in Olive's flat as 'a suffragette arsenal' ? they found wire cutters, a hammer, a gallon of paraffin, a bag of stones and even a false car number plate. Together with the arson at Roehampton, Olive was also charged with damaging the orchid house at Kew gardens and pouring corrosive liquid into a letter box (a bottle of corrosive liquid was also found at her flat). Surveillance photos were taken of Olive while in prison and circulated, along with her physical description and status as a 'Known Militant Suffragette'. Olive cited the evils of prostitution as having first drawn her into the militant movement, because she believed that laws would never be passed to tackle the issue unless women had the vote. She was sentenced to four months in prison. Olive threatened to go on hunger strike unless she was given first class political prisoner status ? suffragettes by and large were classed as criminals ? and promised to serve her sentence if she could continue with her art. Her demands seem to have been met.

Other Suffrage Activities: Olive became a Land Girl during the First World War and published a novel, Two Girls on the Land: Wartime on a Dartmoor Farm. She later married and had two sons.