Emily Davison

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Emily Davison

Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 08 June 1913) was an activist for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She died four days after she was struck by King George V's horse Anmer at the Epsom Derby on the 4th June 1913.

Suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison memorial issue of the newspaper edited by Christabel Pankhurst

Davison was born in Blackheath, London. She was the daughter of Charles Davison and Margaret Davison, with two sisters and a brother, and many half-siblings (from her father's first marriage) including a half-brother, Capt. Henry Jocelyn Davison RN (ret'd) who gave evidence at her inquest. She was a good performer at school and had a university education, having studied first at Royal Holloway College in London. Unfortunately, she was forced to drop out because her recently-widowed mother couldn't afford the £20 term fees. She then became a school teacher in Edgbaston and Worthing, raising enough money to study English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and obtained first-class honours in her final exams, though women were not at that time admitted to degrees at Oxford. She then obtained a post teaching the children of a family in Berkshire and then joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1906, and immediately involved herself in their more militant activities. She was arrested and imprisoned for various offences, including a violent attack on a man she mistook for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George. She went on hunger strike in Strangeways Prison and was force-fed. In Holloway prison, she threw herself down an iron staircase as a protest. She landed on wire netting 30 feet (10 m) below, which saved her; however, she suffered some severe spinal damage.

On 13 July, the night of the 1911 census, Davison hid in a cupboard in the Palace of Westminster overnight so that on the census form she could legitimately give her place of residence that night as the "House of Commons". Tony Benn MP once unofficially placed a plaque there to commemorate the event. In 1913, she planted a bomb at David Lloyd George's newly built house in Surrey, damaging it severely.

Death at the Epsom Derby, 1913

Davison falling to the ground unconscious after being struck by Anmer.

Davison's purpose in attending the Derby of 4 June 1913 is unclear. Much has been made of the fact that she purchased a return rail ticket and also a ticket to a Suffragette dance later that day, suggesting that suicide was not, on this occasion, her initial intention.

A possibility of her reason for entering the race track was that she was trying to attach a flag to the King's horse, so when the horse crossed the finishing line it would quite literally be flying the suffragettes flag. Evidence for this was that she had supposedly been seen in the weeks before stopping horses in the lane outside her house. However, this is only one of many theories.

Film of the incident shows her stepping out in front of the horse, Anmer, as it rounded Tattenham Corner, with Davison carrying the banner of the WSPU. But instead of stopping, Anmer smashed her to the ground, knocking her unconscious. Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with many believing that she had simply intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; while others reported that she had attempted to pull down the King's horse. She died four days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital, due to a fractured skull and internal injuries caused by the incident. Herbert Jones, the jockey who was riding the horse, suffered a mild concussion in the incident, but was 'haunted by that woman's face' much longer. Eleven years later, at Emmeline Pankhurst's funeral Jones laid a wreath 'to do honour to the memory of Mrs Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison', and in 1951, he was found dead by his son in a gas filled kitchen. Anmer made a full recovery and made a return to racing.

Commemoration

Emily Davison's Funeral

Davison is buried in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin, Morpeth, not far from the village of Longhorsley, Northumberland where she lived with her mother. The funeral attracted a large crowd. Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan, "Deeds not words". She had two funerals, one in London and one in Morpeth.

She is the subject of a song by American rock singer Greg Kihn, whose elegy "Emily Davison" is included on his first album, 1976's Greg Kihn.

External links

• A transcript of the Morning Post, June 5 1913, describing the incident that led to Emily Davison's death.
• History Learning Site Bio
• Writer Barbara Gorna on Women's Parliamentary Radio claiming Emily's death to be a tragic accident not suicide