Minnie Pallister

Minnie Pallister
A white woman with short fair hair, in an oval frame
Minnie Pallister in 1923
Born12 March 1885
Kilkhampton, Cornwall
Died26 March 1960
Occupation(s)Political activist, writer, broadcaster

Minnie Pallister (12 March 1885 – 26 March 1960) was an English political activist, political writer, self-described "Socialist propagandist",[1][2] unsuccessful political candidate for the Independent Labour Party, and radio personality.

Pallister was born in Cornwall, and was the daughter of a clergyman. She was trained as a teacher at Cardiff University, and worked for a decade as a schoolteacher in a Welsh elementary school. She joined the Independent Labour Party during its affiliation to the Labour Party, and in 1914 became the president of the party's federation in Monmouthshire.

During World War I, Pallister helped organise the pacifist organization No-Conscription Fellowship. Also during the war, she was an active orator for the causes of peace and labour. In the general elections of 1923 and 1924, Pallister was an unsuccessful candidate for the Bournemouth constituency in Hampshire.

Due to health problems, Pallister retired from active politics in the 1920s. In the 1920s, she wrote a number of books on the topic of socialism. In the 1930s, she wrote books about gardening. In 1936, Pallister joined the pacifist organisation Peace Pledge Union, and in 1945 she was elected as a member of the organization's council. In the 1950s, Pallister was affiliated with BBC Radio as a regular contributor in the radio magazine programme Woman's Hour. She died in 1960, at the age of 75.

  1. ^ Minnie Pallister, The Orange Box: Thoughts of a Socialist Propagandist (Leonard Parsons 1924).
  2. ^ Labour Party National Committee Conference, Volumes 59-61 (1960–1961): 53. "Minnie Pallister, who died in March aged 75, was well-known for her propaganda work, first in Wales and then all over the country in the 1920s. She was compelled by illness to withdraw from active politics for some years, but in recent years became a frequent broadcaster on radio."