Mr Henry Devenish Harben

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

Database linked sources: https://www.suffrageresources.org.uk/resource/3228/men-in-the-suffrage-movement

Additional Information: Henry was a member of the Liberal Party that was in government at the time of the suffrage campaign, but resigned in 1912 over the party's attitude to votes for women and what he perceived as the unfair treatment of suffragettes. In 1913, he was honorary treasurer of the Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement (MPU), a sort of men's 'wing' of the WSPU. He was in very close touch with the Pankhursts and assisted their militant campaign wherever he could. For example, he offered his home and substantial estate at Newlands Park in Buckinghamshire as a refuge for suffragettes after their release from imprisonment. He also made financial donations to societies like Sylvia Pankhurst's East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS) and supported individuals and businesses connected with the WSPU's work. His wife was a committee member of the United Suffragists (US), which formed in 1914 as a breakaway society from the WSPU over the way it was being conducted by the Pankhursts in the later stages of the campaign. Henry regretfully supported the reasoning of the US, concluding in a letter to Christabel Pankhurst, then in exile in Paris, that he did not approve of the leadership's treatment of local branch members. He was then treasurer of the MPU and president of its Oxford branch, but resigned in 1914. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested for participating in a demonstration in Westminster.

Other Suffrage Activities: Henry bought the Hotel Majestic during the First World War to have it turned into a field hospital for injured soldiers. In 1920, he stood as a candidate for the Labour Party but was defeated.