Miss Sime Seruya

Other sources: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4769024
Elizabeth Crawford, The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866?1928 (1999)

Additional Information: Sime joined the WSPU probably in 1906, once it had established its headquarters in London. Although an actress, she likely had a private or independent means of income, given that she donated £100 to the WSPU in 1907 ? a large sum in those days. In early 1907, she was sent to prison for two weeks for having taken part in a deputation to the House of Commons. However, when a split occurred within the WSPU, Sime sided with the group that broke away to form the Women's Freedom League (WFL) and became an organiser for them. She was arrested and imprisoned chiefly for taking part in deputations to either Downing Street or the House of Commons, for which she was each time imprisoned. In 1908, Sime had co-founded the Actresses Franchise League (AFL), which put on many suffrage plays and helped to choreograph the many spectacular women's suffrage processions that took place through the streets of London. The following year, she also joined the Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL), which was closely aligned to the WFL. In 1910, she founded an 'International Suffrage Shop' in London, which was used to hold meetings and to buy all kinds of feminist goods, including books, suffrage posters and badges.