The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia: Helena Gutteridge, the Unknown Reformer

When Helena Gutteridge died in 1960, she left behind a legacy of social and political reform. She was born into a working-class family in England where, as a young woman, she was involved in the militant struggle for votes for women. When she arrived in British Columbia in 1911, she quickly became a champion for the rights of women and workers. In this book, Irene Howard chronicles Gutteridge’s life and struggles for these causes - for women’s suffrage, for jobs for the unemployed and union recognition, for the minimum wage, and for low-cost housing. Following a term on Vancouver’s City Council - she was in 1937 the first woman to be elected to Council - she worked in a Japanese internment camp. She continued to work for several left-wing and women’s causes until her death at the age of 81. As was typical for a woman of her class and time, Helena Gutteridge did not keep personal records, nor did organizational records exist to any extent.