Jessey Wade

Summary

Anna Jessey Wade[1] (2 December 1859 – 10 May 1952) was an English suffragist and campaigner for animal welfare, known for founding the Cats Protection League (now known as Cats Protection). She co-founded a number of other animal welfare organisations and helped create and was editor of the feminist gender studies journal Urania.

Jessey Wade
The Animals' Friend Cat Book mentions an office cat called Tibby who is depicted in an illustration alongside a writer/illustrator who is potentially Jessey Wade.
Born
Anna Jessey Wade

(1859-12-02)2 December 1859
Died10 May 1952(1952-05-10) (aged 92)
London, England
Known for

Life and work edit

Wade was a friend of fellow animal welfare campaigner Ernest Bell and worked for him as a personal secretary until his death in 1933. As members of the Animals' Friend Society, Bell edited the journal The Animals' Friend and Wade became editor, after Edith Carrington, of its sister journal intended for children, The Little Animals' Friend.[2] Wade published a number of pamphlets as part of the society's A. F. pamphlet series, including Cruelties in Dress, Mother Love in the Animal World, Fur Coats, Hats and the Woman, Little Father Christmas and Winter Cruelties.[3]

Wade was Honorary Secretary of the Children’s Department for the Humanitarian League, from 1906 until 1919.[4] In 1916, she co-founded Urania, a journal which formed part of a campaign to erase all distinctions based on gender.[5]

In 1927, Wade was the organiser of a meeting in Caxton Hall, London, which established the Cats Protection League.[6] She edited the Cats Protection League's journal, The Cats' Mews-Sheet.[7] In the same year, Wade co-founded, with Ernest Bell and John Galsworthy, the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports and in 1932, the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports.[4] She was also a member of the Women's Freedom League, Pit Ponies' Protection Society, Performing and Captive Animals' Defence League.[2]

In 1935, she gave a speech for the Humane Education Society in Manchester.[8]

In 1948, she retired from editing The Little Animals' Friend, after having worked on it for 50 years.[9]

Wade died at her home at Abbey Road mansions on 2 December 1952, at the age of 92.[1]

Contributions to animal organisations edit

 
Ernest Bell and Jessey Wade's banner for The Animals' Friend, parading through London in 1909, during the Anti-Vivisection International Congress.

Wade founded and made significant contributions to a number of animal advocacy organisations:[4][10]

  • Humanitarian League (Honorary Secretary of the Children’s Department from 1906 until 1919)
  • Pit Ponies' Protection Society (active member)
  • Performing and Captive Animals' Defence League (co-founder with Ernest Bell and John Galsworthy)
  • League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports (now known as the League Against Cruel Sports; co-founder with Ernest Bell and John Galsworthy)
  • National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports (co-founder with Ernest Bell and John Galsworthy)
  • Cats Protection League (now known as Cats Protection; co-founder)
  • Humane Education Society (Vice-President of the Council for Protection of Animals)

Publications edit

Pamphlets edit

  • Cruelties in Dress (London: Animals' Friend Society, 1912)
  • Mother Love in the Animal World (London: Animals' Friend Society)
  • Fur Coats (London: Animals' Friend Society)
  • Hats and the Woman (London: Animals' Friend Society)
  • Little Father Christmas (London: Animals' Friend Society)
  • Winter Cruelties (London: Animals' Friend Society)

Books edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Ancestry.com. England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Meet Cats Protection founder Jessey Wade". Meow! Blog. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. ^ Galsworthy, John (1913). Treatment of animals: being a speech delivered at the Kensington Town Hall on December 15, 1913, at a meeting called to protest against cruelties to performing animals. London: Animals' Friend Society.
  4. ^ a b c Edmundson, John (14 November 2013). "The Brown Linties by Jessey Wade". HappyCow. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ Tiernan, Sonja (2013). "Radical sexual politics and post-war religion". Eva Gore-Booth: An Image of Such Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-509-0.
  6. ^ Hankins, Justine (4 May 2002). "In a league of their own". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Our History". Cats Protection. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Protection of Animals". The Manchester Guardian. 26 November 1934. p. 16. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. ^ "A Friend of Animals". The Children's Newspaper. 21 February 1948. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  10. ^ The Humane Education Society Council for Protection of Animals: The Future is with the Children and Kind Hearted People (PDF). 1935. Retrieved 30 June 2020.