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= The Women's Peace Crusade = The Women's Peace Crusade was a grass-roots socialist movement that spread across Great Britain between 1916 and 1918. Its central aim was to spread a 'people's peace', which was defined as a negotiated end to the war without any annexations or indemnities. The movement was first established in Glasgow in July 1916, and officially launched on June 10 1917. It later spread across Great Britain, with demonstrations taking place in Leeds, Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham and Lancashire. Although it gathered a substantial following, the Women's Peace Crusade faced opposition from both the government and police, with members being arrested and reportedly threatened.

Origins
The Women's Peace Crusade, sometimes referred to as the Women's Peace Negotiation Crusade, originated in Glasgow at a demonstration on July 23 1916, which drew a crowd of 5,000 people. The demonstration had been organised by Helen Crawfurd, a working class feminist and socialist who had played a significant role in the Glasgow Rent Strike of 1915. The protest came after a letter was published in the Labour Leader condemning the women of Britain for not organising any protests against the war.

Members
The Women's Peace Crusade was among the largest peace movements in Glasgow during the First World War, and it was certainly the one with the most working class grass-roots support.

Helen Crawfurd was one of the founders of the Women's Peace Crusade, and also founded the Glasgow branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, but later said that she was never a pacifist. Instead, she was 'an International socialist with a profound hatred of war with all its ghastly cruelty and waste'. Fractions within the Glasgow branch of the Women's International League led to divisions between the middle class and working class members, and subsequently Helen Crawfurd, along with other working class members, formed the Women's Peace Crusade. These other members included Agnes Dollan, Miss Walker, Mrs Barbour and Mrs Ferguson.