Miss Alison Roberta Noble Neilans
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Born: 1884
Died: 1942
Place of birth: Camberwell, Middlesex, England
Occupation: Book-keeper
Main Suffrage Society: WFL
Other Societies: CLWS; ELFS
Society Role: Organiser; executive committee
Arrest Record: Yes
Recorded Entries: 3
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/3229/the-womens-freedom-league
Additional Information: Alison was an organiser for the Women's Freedom League (WFL) and was a member of its executive committee by 1910. She was arrested and imprisoned a couple of times in 1908 and again in 1909, and sentenced to an average of one month in prison. She became widely known for pouring liquid into ballot boxes at the Bermonsey by-election that year, for which she was sentenced to three months in prison. She went on hunger strike and was forcibly fed twice a day. By 1911, she was also a member of the Church League for Women's Suffrage (CLWS) and later, the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS), which was based on working class support. In the 1930s, she was a board member of the International Women's Suffrage Alliance.
Other Suffrage Activities: Alison was secretary of the Association for Social and Moral Hygiene in 1917 and was editor of its journal for many years. She was also on the executive council of the Open Door Council in 1934, which sought equal rights for women in employment.