Two eminent women of my acquaintance, Rhian Jones and Kat Gupta, have both been blogging about Emily Wilding Davison (1872-1913), the suffragette who died of injuries sustained after being trampled by George V’s horse Anmer at the Derby. I enjoyed both posts wholeheartedly and am recommending them here.
Rhian’s post, for Bad Reputation, looks more broadly at the cultural significance of the suffragettes and their commemoration in various media (including the fabulous “Sister Suffragette” from Mary Poppins). She ties Davison and the suffragettes in to the 100th anniversary of the 1911 census – which, as Rhian notes, the WSPU regarded as another campaigning opportunity. Rhian’s usual blog is Velvet Coalmine.
Kat Gupta, a PhD student in corpus linguistics and the women’s suffrage movement, writes more specifically about the WSPU procession which accompanied Davison’s coffin through London, before her body was taken (by rail) to Morpeth for burial. Gupta writes fascinatingly about the WSPU leadership’s attitude to Davison, and the visual signifiers and suffrage imagery used in the march. Kat Gupta blogs at Mixosaurus.
