We were treated to a delightful service this morning led by the guides and brownies. Their theme was the Suffragettes as they have recently been working to achieve their Suffragette badge. This of course coincides with 100 years since votes for women were granted. We had a lot of fun and learnt a lot.
Did you know that locally during the campaign, there had been a rally on Shipley Glen with thousands of people attending? When Winston Churchill came to Bradford to speak at St George’s Hall, suffragettes hid under the stage before coming out to disrupt the talk. We were all surprised to hear that the reservoirs at Chellow Dene had been died violet with dye from the local woollen mills.
The congregation were put through their paces with a quiz about women in the bible – we didn’t do too well. It just goes to show how often important women are pushed to the background or lack a clear named identity.
The guides’ presentations on women of inspiration were well received. They included talks on Malala Yousafzai, education and rights for women campaigner and peace activist; Katherine Johnson NASA mathematician, one of 3 women of colour on whom the book and film Hidden Figures was based; and Sally Ride who in 1983 was the first American woman in space on the space shuttle Challenger.
We were shown the stained glass panel the guides had produced in the colours of Green, White and Violet which stood for Give Women Votes.
The new flags for the brownies and the guides were dedicated at this service.