 Within the group of young socialists who gathered regularly at the ILP 's local headquarters there were three Elizabeths . To avoid confusion , lots were drawn to decide who should be known respectively as Elizabeth , Betty , or Bessie . By this means Elizabeth Bamber took the name Bessie , which she retained for the rest of her life . Among the other ILP activists at Kensington was Sydney Silverman , four years older than Bessie , the son of a poor draper . Silverman was a considerable influence on the youthful Bessie ; he would be her future colleague , both in the Liverpool council chamber and the House of Commons . When the First World War began in August 1914 , the ILP opposed it as " an appalling crime upon the nations " who had been " stampeded by fear and panic " . On the introduction of conscription in 1916 , Silverman and others adopted positions of uncompromising pacifism , and were imprisoned . The ILP welcomed news of the Russian Revolution of 1917 , and vigorously opposed allied intervention in the civil war that followed it . Bessie played a leading role in a TUC " Hands Off Russia " rally in Liverpool 's Sheil Park , where she and others resisted the efforts of the British Empire Union to capture the ILP 's red flag . 
