Blue plaque campaign launched to celebrate women's part in making the North great

Stories of inspirational women activists are to be championed with a blue plaque campaign.
Members of the Women's Banner Group are calling for people to join in its blue plaque campaign.Members of the Women's Banner Group are calling for people to join in its blue plaque campaign.
Members of the Women's Banner Group are calling for people to join in its blue plaque campaign.

Those with particularly strong links with Durham will be acknowledged through the project, which is being led by The Women's Banner Group (WBG), schools and a Lancaster University project.

The group, which is based in the city, hopes to commemorate the women of the past through their stories of resistance.

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A blue plaque hustings will be the first step in the project, with the gathering to be held on Saturday, March 30, at 1pm in the Durham Miners' Association HQ at Redhills, where nominations will be discussed.

Secretary of the WBG, Lynn Gibson said: “There are currently no blue plaques in the area dedicated to women, only men or buildings, despite having many local women of importance.

"We hope to be able to rectify that through this process.”

Also at the event will be the Remembering Resistance project, from Lancaster University, which is bringing the history of women’s activism to life.

To ensure the voices of women who have been involved in protest are preserved, the project will gather oral histories and archival accounts.

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Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Remembering Resistance is inspired by the centenary of the Representation of the People’s Act, the law that gave all men and some women the right to vote in 1918.

Dr Sarah Marsden added: “We are looking for women who have fought for political change and who are willing to tell their stories. We’re interested in all kinds of activism, so if you’ve spent time campaigning or protesting in the North of England, we want to hear from you.”

The Women’s Banner Group, founded in 2017, was set up to promote female empowerment and to recognise and celebrate the achievements of local women throughout the years.

WBG created a mass movement in 2018, which resulted in over 100 women marching at the Durham Miners’ Gala 2018 with a banner created by 12 groups of women from across the region.

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For further information on the criteria for nominating someone for a blue plaque email [email protected] To find out more about Remembering Resistance, including how to become a volunteer or an interviewee, visit www.rememberingresistance.com, follow the project on Twitter

through @rememberresist or email [email protected].