Members of the Coventry Society attended the unveiling of a plaque to Alice Arnold on 28th January 2025.
The plaque was unveiled at 28 Short Street, her home in the 1920s.
Alice Arnold was born on 19 January 1881. She was a socialist and trade unionist in Coventry. She was one of the first women on the city council, serving for 36 years, and became the first female mayor of the city in 1937.
Alice was born in the Coventry Workhouse to Caroline and Samuel Arnold. Her mother and three siblings had been admitted to the workhouse on 23 November 1880 and were discharged on 19 February 1882.
She was employed in factories from the age of eleven. Her experiences made her want to improve life for people in her community and she became an organiser of the Worker’s Union and Secretary of the Coventry Social Democratic Federation (SDF) Women’s Circle.
In 1919 she was elected as an independent Labour councillor in Coventry. She campaigned for better living conditions for those living in the city. Alice was elected Mayor in 1937. At the mayoral ceremony, she assured men that women had no desire for sex antagonism but that they did feel that it was time for them to stand side by side with men in the work of the world.
Alice was popular with the electorate of the city and in October 1938 she led a protest for ‘peace and plenty.’ The protest culminated in a delegation of over 100 people delivering a petition signed by 60,000 Coventry citizens (two-thirds of the city’s electorate) to the Home Office. The aim of the petition was to promote peace and abolish poverty.
Alice died on 22 November 1955.
The plaque was a collaboration between the City Council and the Alice Arnold branch of the Trade Union Unite. Members of the Coventry Society gave support and advice.
The plaque was unveiled by Coventry Lord Mayor Councillor Mal Mutton, Bill Smith, Chair of the Alice Arnold Unite Community Coventry and Warwickshire branch and Annmarie Kilcline the West Midland Regional Secretary of Unite.
Thanks were also given to Bill Street, the Unite Branch Secretary and Charlotte Stranks the Council’s Conservation Officer, who together did most of the work to get the plaque installed.
