Alice Wheeldon was a member of the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

 and an anti war campaigner.

Born in Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, Wheeldon joined the Women's Social and Political Union

Women's Social and Political Union

The Women's Social and Political Union was the leading militant organisation campaigning for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom...

 and, with her family, including her daughters Hettie and Winnie Mason, she became involved in opposition to World War I

Opposition to World War I

Opposition to World War I was mainly by left-wing groups, but there was also opposition by Christian pacifist and nationalist groups.The trade union and socialist movements had declared before the war their determined opposition to a war which they said could only mean workers killing each other in...

.

In January 1917 Wheeldon was sent four vials of curare

Curare

Curare is a common name for various arrow poisons originating from South America. The three main types of curare are:* tubocurare...

. She later claimed that these were to be used to kill guard dog

Guard dog

A guard dog, an attack dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals. The dog is discriminating so that it does not annoy or attack familiar people.-Barking:...

s at a camp for conscientious objector

Conscientious objector

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

s. When this package was intercepted, she, along with Hattie, Winnie and Winnie's husband, Alfred Mason, was charged with conspiracy to murder the Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

 and Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 member Arthur Henderson

Arthur Henderson

Arthur Henderson was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and he served three short terms as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1908–1910, 1914–1917 and 1931-1932....

. Alice was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment; Winnie and Alfred Mason to shorter terms, while Hattie was acquitted. Alice was sent to Aylesbury Prison, where she went on hunger strike

Hunger strike

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...

. She was released on licence in December 1918, but died of Spanish influenza shortly afterwards.

Literature about Alice Wheeldon

• The Plot to Kill Lloyd George: The Story of Alice Wheeldon and the Peartree Conspiracy, Nicola Rippon (2009), ISBN 978-1-84563-079-9