Transport for London’s (TfL’s) new Mind the Gap podcast episode delves into the history behind the London Overground Suffragette line, with interviews with activist and scholar Helen Pankhurst, Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter, and comedian and writer, Cally Beaton.
This autumn, the London Overground line connecting north west and east London will be named the Suffragette line and represented on the map with two parallel green lines, as part of the new names and colours for each of the six Overground lines, making it easier for customers to navigate London’s transport network while also celebrating the city’s diverse culture and history.
TfL Image – Helen Pankhurst next to a London Overground Suffragette line route map and an Underground poster designed by Alfred France in 1911
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In episode four of the Mind the Gap podcast, presenter Tim Dunn visits Barking Riverside London Overground station, in east London, where he speaks with Helen Pankhurst. Helen is the great-granddaughter of Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, who was one of key Suffragette leaders from east London who campaigned for women’s rights. During the interview Helen talks about the impact her great-grandmother and family had on her views on women’s rights and her own work, the history of the Suffragette movement and current women’s rights issues and challenges. Helen also talks about the work of her grandmother Sylvia Pankhurst, who was also a key figure in the Suffragette movement and had strong links to the working classes in the East End of London.
In the second part of the episode, Tim speaks with British comedian and writer Cally Beaton at Gospel Oak London Overground station. Cally talks about her journey of becoming the first female board member at ITV and a champion for women in business. Cally then speaks about how she became a comedian, the influence of comedy legend Joan Rivers, and how perceptions of women in comedy still have a way to go.
TfL Image – Cally Beaton, comedian, podcaster and writer with Mind the Gap podcast presenter Tim Dunn
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The London Overground Suffragette line has been named following engagement with local communities and honours how the working-class movement in the East End paved the way for women’s rights. Barking, at the eastern end of the line, was home of the longest surviving Suffragette Annie Huggett, who died aged 103.
London’s Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, said: “This autumn, the London Overground line connecting north west and east London will be named the Suffragette line to commemorate this historic campaign, which helped gain women the right to vote. I encourage Londoners to tune into the latest episode of TfL’s Mind the Gap podcast featuring Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter Helen Pankhurst to learn more about the history behind this pivotal movement and the inspiration behind the line’s historic name change.”
