Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Emily Davison and the King's horse

Yesterday Ros Scott wrote about Emily Wilding Davison:

Whether or not she intended to kill herself under the King’s horse at the Derby we’ll never know, but the extent to which she was prepared to suffer for what she believed in still amazes me.

There’s a cupboard in the depths of Parliament which has a link to Emily Davison – she spent the night of July 13th 1911 hiding in a tiny room next to the Chapel. This was the night of the census and it enabled her to give the House of Commons as her residence.

This is probably not the time to recall Lord Bonkers' comment (from, gulp, 1991), but I will do so anyway:
I recall the distinctly frosty reception I was given when I turned up at Greenham Common with my bell tent to lend my support to the ladies camping there. This is an injustice that still rankles, for I was always a staunch supporter of women's suffrage. Was I not the first to salute the courage of Miss Emily Davison in throwing herself under the King's horse at Epsom - even though I had managed to back the beast at distinctly favourable odds?

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