As she was accompanied through the Members’ Lobby, Travers Symons broke away from her escort and burst into the chamber where MPs were debating a bill regarding issues related to children.
The majority of commentators hold the view that Davison did not intend to martyr herself, but rather wished to attach a ‘Votes For Women’ scarf to the horse as a way to gain publicity for the movement.
Frustrated by the lack of progress made by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies from whom the group had split, the WSPU soon became known for its militant and sometimes violent actions under the motto ‘Deeds, not words’.
On the 4th June 1913, suffragette Emily Wilding Davison was hit by King George V’s racehorse at the Epsom Derby after she stepped onto the track.
On the 10th October 1903 the Women’s Social and Political Union, whose members came to be known as suffragettes, was founded at the Manchester home of Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst.
On 6 February 1918 the Representation of the People Act received Royal Assent, marking the start of female suffrage in Great Britain.
28th June 2015
11th November 2022
11th November 2022
9th November 2019
