Edith Hudson (born 1872) was a British

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and suffragette. She was an active member of the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

branch of the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

(WSPU) and was arrested several times for her part in their

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

s in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She engaged in

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

s while in prison and was forcibly fed. She was released after the last of these strikes under the so-called

Cat and Mouse Act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political ...

. Hudson was awarded a

Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on hunger strike while serving t ...

'for Valour' by the WSPU.

Early life and career

Hudson was born in 1872.Suffragette Amnesty of August 1914: index of women arrested 1906-1914. Home Office: Registered Papers. Suffragette Collection. National Archives. Ref. HO 45/24665. She worked as a nurse in Edinburgh but gave up her profession to dedicate herself to the

women’s suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

movement.The Suffragist Disturbances. The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 23 November 1911.

Campaign for women's suffrage

Hudson was an active member of the Edinburgh branch of the Women's Social and Political Union and engaged in protests in Scotland and London. She hosted meetings of the Edinburgh WSPU at her home in Melville Place. She was arrested for the first time in Edinburgh in December 1909 at a demonstration where Liberal MP

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adhe ...

was delivering a speech. Hudson addressed a large crowd before making her way to the theatre and becoming engaged in scuffles with police who were blocking the way. She was charged with committing a

breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

and pled guilty, but claimed her actions were “purely political” and necessary as “the Government at present had refused to hear any questions about women’s franchise that were put in a constitutional and peaceful manner.”The Leith Suffragist Disturbance. The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 7 December 1909. She was given a £5 fine or 30 days' imprisonment. Hudson opted to go to

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

and was removed to Calton Jail with a fellow suffragette Elsie Roe-Brown. Members of the Edinburgh WSPU gathered at the walls of Calton Jail to give them “an encouraging cheer”. On 21 November 1911, Hudson was among the 223 protesters arrested at a WSPU demonstration at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, to which she had travelled with other women from the Edinburgh branch, including

Jessie C. Methven Jessie Cunningham Methven (1854 - 15 February 1917) was a Scottish campaigner for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage. She was honorary secretary of the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage from the mid 1890s unti ...

, Alice Shipley, Elizabeth and Agnes Thomson and

Mrs N Grieve Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Doctor'', ''Prof ...

. The demonstrations followed the "torpedoing" of the Conciliation Bill, meant to extend the right to vote to wealthy, property-owning women. Hudson had previously been arrested in London in November 1910.

Hunger strikes

In March 1912, Hudson took part in a militant protest which involved concerted window-smashing in London over three days. Scottish participants were assigned Kensington High Street. Hudson was arrested, sentenced and sent to

Holloway prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Histor ...

. While she was serving her sentence,

Emmeline ''Emmeline, The Orphan of the Castle'' is the first novel written by English writer Charlotte Smith; it was published in 1788. A Cinderella story in which the heroine stands outside the traditional economic structures of English society and ...

and

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exil ...

were charged with

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

and imprisoned in Holloway in April 1912. Suffragette prisoners were instructed by the WSPU to go on hunger strike to protest Mrs Pankhurst's sentence. A fellow Scottish prisoner, Lilias Mitchell, described the forcible feeding of the hunger strikers as "a sort of hell for two hours" and reported that Hudson "fought splendidly - knocked down all the six wardresses & told the doctor what she thought of him!" Mrs Pankhurst was released the following day. All the released prisoners were presented with an "illuminated address" designed by

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with t ...

and signed by Emmeline. In May 1913 Hudson was charged with attempting to set fire to

Kelso Racecourse Kelso Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Kelso, Scotland. The official website describes the course as "Britain's Friendliest Racecourse". It was voted the Best Small Course in Scotland and the North of England in 2007, ...

stand, along with

Arabella Scott Arabella Scott (7 May 1886 – 27 August 1980) was a Scottish teacher, suffragette and campaigner. As a member of the Women's Freedom League (WFL) she took a petition to Downing Street in July 1909. She subsequently adopted more militant tac ...

and Elizabeth and Agnes Thomson, and was sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Calton Jail. The women immediately went on hunger strike. After seven days, Hudson and the other female prisoners were released under The

Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913 The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political U ...

, also known as the Cat and Mouse Act, which had recently been introduced to allow prisons to release women whose hunger strike had reached a critical stage. They were released on licence, to return when their health improved. No attempt had been made to forcibly feed them. After her release Hudson stayed at the home of Dr

Grace Cadell Grace Ross Cadell (October 25, 1855 – February 19, 1918) was a Scottish doctor and suffragist, and one of the first group of women to study medicine in Scotland and qualify. She was, with Elsie Inglis, one of the initial entrants to the Ed ...

, which was used as a refuge for suffragettes.Leneman, Leah (1991). A Guid Cause. Aberdeen University Press. p144. She was interviewed there by a journalist who described her as "a woman of fine physique" who would soon be to fit enough to return to Calton for "further martyrdom". None of the women returned to prison when their licenses expired and Hudson subsequently “vanished”. Like many suffragettes at the time, Hudson used an alias to evade the police and went by Mary Brown. For this reason it is likely that she is noted twice on the Roll of Honour of Suffragette Prisoners. She was remembered by a fellow suffragette as "about the most gentle person I knew".Leneman, Leah (1991). A Guid Cause. Aberdeen University Press. P140.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Edith Scottish suffragists Year of death missing Scottish nurses British women nurses Hunger Strike Medal recipients Scottish suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union 1872 births People associated with Edinburgh Hunger strikers

Early life and career

Campaign for women's suffrage

Hunger strikes

See also

References