From Suffragette to Fascist

Mary Allen first came to notoriety as a thrice-gaoled, window-smashing suffragette. When WSPU activities ceased in 1914, Allen pioneered the first female police force, recruiting and training hundreds of women. Although honored with an OBE for her policing work during the First World War, she was soon infuriating the Establishment by travelling the world in her unauthorised uniform. Forced away from policing in the inter-war period, Mary tried her hand at becoming an acclaimed author, running for Parliament and countering the IRA threat. When her head was turned by a meeting with Hitler, she became Chief Women's Officer of the British Union of Fascists. On the eve of the Second World War Mary narrowly escaped internment, despite suspicions of spying, secret flights to Germany and Nazi salutes. Although adored of loyal friends, Mary's willfulness tarnished her reputation and has, until now, overshadowed her extraordinary life and achievements. This is her story.