St Pancras sends cordial greetings and sympathy to the heroic martyrs of Leicester..........

In 1840 a Vaccination Act had been introduced to provide free vaccinations to the poor. This outlawed inoculation which at the time meant ‘Variolation’ inoculation of smallpox material. In 1853 it became compulsory for infants to be vaccinated within the first three months of life. If the parents defaulted, they would be fined or imprisoned. This led to the founding of the Anti-Vaccination League in London. In 1867 vaccination became compulsory for all children up to the age of 14 and opponents focused their concern upon the infringement of personal choice and liberty. The Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League was founded in 1867 with smaller leagues being set up in towns and cities throughout England. In response to this new law, pressure from this Anti -Vaccination movement was increasing. In 1885 a huge anti-vaccination demonstration was held in Leicester attracting about one hundred thousand people.

 

Demonstrations relating to the opposition of the Vaccination Act whereby  no means infrequent in Leicester. The citizens of Leicester became accustomed to meetings being held in the streets, on corners and in various drinking establishments. On Monday 23rd March 1885, a huge protest had been organised in the town of Leicester. The march had been organised by the Leicester Anti- Compulsory Vaccination League.

 

At least fifty towns sent delegates to join in the demonstration. Ireland was represented by delegates from Dublin with a banner bearing the words “oppressive laws make discontented people”. The Scottish League sent their standard and banner. London, South London, Shoreditch, Southwark, and Saint Patrick's branches sent delegates and placards. Hull sent two strong deputations. All corners of the United Kingdom were represented as different branches of the Anti-Vaccination League sent delegates to Leicester.

The affair was unique. It was one of the largest and most thorough exhibitions of feelings against an Act of Parliament.

Playing ”The Anti-Vaccinators March” which had been composed by Mr G Burden, the procession started at 2:00pm in the Marketplace and passed through the numerous parishes in the town. The parade passed down Belgrave Gate, Junction Road, into Russell Square and along Wharf Street, Rutland St, Belvoir Street, and onto Welford Road, Carlton Street, Oxford Street, Southgate Street, High Cross Street, Northgate, Sanvygate, Churchgate, Gallowtree Gate and back to the Marketplace where at least ten thousand people had been patiently waiting and singing a song specially written for the occasion called “The cause that is true.”

Spectators gathered on the route, filling the streets from lower Granby Street through to Market Place, with windows in the houses along the roads filled with onlookers and the balconies and other elevated positions packed to the rafters.

Leading the march on horseback was a Doctor Lakin and Mr W.P Ellmore ,the marshals of the first detachment. The protesters followed behind. The campaigners came from various leagues, starting with the  Banbury League and a banner saying,  ‘Stand up to Liberty’. Banbury was followed by the Leicester League who carried a banner with the borough Coat of Arms and an illustration entitled ‘Bubbles of the earth. Between the banners where people wearing rosettes who had suffered terms of imprisonment varying from seven to thirty days for not getting their children vaccinated. One of the banners had a humorous representation of the doctor's ride to fortune followed by parents whose goods had been seized for the vaccination fines. Plenty of Anti-Vaccination leagues carried banners with various mottos on them. One of the mottos on a banner carried by the Saint Pancras League had the words ‘St Pancras sends cordial greetings and sympathy to the heroic martyrs of Leicester.’ Children followed on in waggons with placards saying, ‘They that were whole need not a physician’. These children were followed by three members of the Board of Guardians and twenty unvaccinated children of various ages in carriages and riding ponies.

The most spectacular and only effigy in the procession was introduced near to the end on a dray. It was intended to be a representation of Doctor Edward Jenner, the English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines including creating the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The representation of Jenner was gibbeted and on the same dray were various articles of furniture which had been sold to pay vaccination fines. Most of the least sincere banners and mottos came near to the end of the procession. Another banner read ‘The Leicester baby Hunter’, followed by another banner showing, horse grease, calf lymph, cowpox, and the local Government Board with the words ‘good Lord deliver us’.

Another dray carried a heifer and following that a starved looking pony with bandages around the body through which blood was made to appear and to represent the source from which lymph is extracted. Another came a coffin bearing wreaths of flowers and drawn on a bier to represent another victim of vaccination.

The last dray at the close of the procession contained different kinds of substances and matter which was used in the process of vaccination and a copy of a chart showing the rate of mortality since and before the vaccination act was enforced.

 

As the procession came to an end in Marketplace Councillor J Butcher the chairman of the Leicester Anti- Vaccination League addressed the crowd. Councillor Butcher believed the best way to get rid of not only smallpox, but every other disease was to use plenty of cold water, take the best and most nutritious food and live in a good healthy dwelling.  He also thought that if the Corporation should keep the sanitation of the town in a good state there would be no necessity to put in force the various Acts of Parliament relating to vaccinations. The demonstration ended with the burning of a copy of the vaccination act.

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A Royal Commission was appointed in 1896 to investigate the anti-vaccination grievances as well as hear evidence in favour of vaccinations. In 1898 a new act removed communitive penalties and introduced a conscientious clause allowing parents who did not believe vaccination was safe or effective to obtain a certificate of exemption. The act was introduced, and the concept of conscientious objector entered English law.

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