[2] Her maternal grandfather, Joseph B. Alderson (1796-1886), was among those protesting during the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 and was a Chartist during the 1830s,[3] and it was perhaps from him that she inherited her social conscience and desire to campaign for the rights of ordinary working people.

On the death of her mother in 1896 Varley became responsible for caring for her younger siblings until 1902,[4] at the same time still working long hours at the mill while also maintaining her trade union efforts.

[2] Varley joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), with whom in February 1907 she was involved in a raid on the floor of the House of Commons.

In 1909 Varley moved to Birmingham and established a branch of the National Federation of Women Workers at the Cadbury factory at Bournville.

At this time she was also involved in the work of the Industrial Welfare Society, which was concerned with the struggle for employer-provided lunchrooms and restrooms.

In September 1935 she was a member of a large international delegation to the League of Nations in Geneva which addressed the claim for equality for women around the world.

Julia Varley died in November 1952 aged 81 at 32 Hampden Street in Bradford[1] and was buried in Undercliffe Cemetery.

In May 2013, she was commemorated by the erection of a blue plaque at her former home at 42 Hay Green Lane, Bournville, by the Birmingham Civic Society.