Kate Sharpley: During the war she left her job with a baker and worked in a Woolwich munitions factory. She was among the first people active in the shop stewards movement. Her father and brother were killed in action and her boyfriend (active in the anarcho-syndicalistic Horse Transport Union) was listed as missing believed killed. She suspected, though she had no proof, that he had been shot for mutiny. At the age of 22, when called to receive her family's medals from Queen Mary (wife of George V) she threw the medals back at her, saying "if you like them so much you can have them". The Queen's face was scratched, Kate Sharpley was beaten by police, and imprisoned for a few days, though no charges were brought against her. She was fired from her job at the factory.
The Kate Sharpley Library is a wonderful asset to anarchists and libertarian socialists across the world, it is an Aladdin’s cave of our history, to learn from and enjoy. A wealth of information that we can dip into, indulge in, or wallow in.
Their latest bulletin, October No.88, is now on line for all to enjoy. We should always support such rich veins of our history, we can't expect the establishment to record our history for us.
