Mud March (Suffragists)

The Mud March was the name given, after the event, to the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) on 7 February 1907. More than 3,000 women trudged through the wet, cold and muddy streets of London from Hyde Park to Exeter Hall to advocate for women's suffrage.

Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the NUWSS and one of the leaders of the march, said of the elements: "The London weather did its worst against us; mud, mud, mud, was its prominent feature, and it was known among us afterwards as the 'mud march.'" Despite the conditions, the march was described as: "A gay enough procession by most accounts, despite the weather. Little touches of red and white splashed its length with rosettes and favours, posies bound with red and white handkerchiefs programmes, and above the line, white banners with vivid scarlet lettering."

The march was attended by "titled women, university women, artists, members of women's clubs, temperance advocates, and women textile workers gathered from all parts of the country." More than forty organisations were represented at the march. One description declared, "'[there were] plenty of well-dressed ladies and a few persons of distinction' to head it up and 'a long line of carriages and motor-cars to wind it up–altogether an imposing and representative array.'"

Phillipa (Pippa) Strachey, daughter of Lady Strachey one of the leaders of the procession, organised the march. The Mud March demonstrated Strachey's skill as an "organizing genius" and led to the planning of many more processions. She was described as the "indefatigable organizer, [the] competent, [and] imaginative" woman who was responsible for the meticulous planning of all future large processions of the NUWSS. Members of the Artists' Suffrage League produced posters and postcards and designed and produced around 80 embroidered banners for the march.

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