Miss Aeta Adelaide Lamb
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Born: 1886
Died: 1928
Place of birth: Demerara, Guyana
Education: Self-taught
Main Suffrage Society: WSPU
Society Role: Organiser
Arrest Record: Yes
Recorded Entries: 2
Other sources: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4769024
http://www.bathintime.co.uk/image/249346/blathwayt-col-linley-suffragette-aeta-lamb-1911
Elizabeth Crawford, The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866?1928 (1999)
Database linked sources: https://www.suffrageresources.org.uk/activity/3214/how-effective-was-the-votes-for-women-campaign-in-bristol
Family information: Father a botanist. Died circa 1890, so the family returned to England.
Additional Information: Aeta, who was named by her botanist father after a palm tree he had discovered in Guyana, joined the WSPU in 1906. She was arrested that year after taking part in a deputation to the House of Commons but was released when her fine was paid. She took part in further deputations in 1907 and 1908 and was arrested and imprisoned both times in Holloway. She was appointed as an organiser to work alongside Annie Kenney for the WSPU in Bristol in 1908. She was described as having 'failed utterly to organise' but, for a WSPU meeting in Bristol expected to be interrupted by male medical students, Aeta had the idea of hiring 'six professional boxers to keep order'. This worked, and arranging it must have been a new experience for a relatively sheltered and young middle class woman. She continued to help organise, especially at WSPU campaigns during by-elections from Bath to Dundee. However, described from the outset as 'frightfully thin' and 'looking much older' than her years, Aeta became ill and so returned to London to work at the WSPU headquarters there. She remained loyal to the WSPU but was uncomfortable with its more violent militant policy towards the end.
Other Suffrage Activities: During and after the First World War, Aeta had difficulty finding work, largely due to continuing health problems and a sensitive personality. She tried training as a cook, but was told she was unsuitable for domestic work. Sadly, she developed cancer and died in the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, having never really found a role for herself.