Florence Eliza Haig (1856–1952) was a Scottish artist and suffragette who was decorated for imprisonments and hunger strikes.

Biography

Haig was born in 1856. Her father was a

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

barrister and she had two sisters, Cecilia and Evelyn. Her cousin Douglas Haig went on to be Field Marshal Haig in 1915. She was an artist and her pastel of the physicist John Tyndall was photographed and a copy is in the National Portrait gallery. Her involvement with the women's suffrage movement started with a £1 donation in 1901 to the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...

. She made another in 1907 but in February she was attracted to the rival

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 ...

. This was a more militant organisation led by the Emmeline Pankhurst. Haig she saw them in action at the "Women's Parliament" which was held on 24 February 1907 at Caxton Hall. Womens Parliament 24 Feb 1909

Haig and her sister, Evelyn, started a local branch of the WSPU in

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 ...

, but she then left for London. Haig was met by a young Grace Roe when suffragettes were chalking the pavement in Kensington High Street. Haig invited Roe to the demonstration at Hyde Park and she went and was inspired by

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 ...

. Haig became a founder member of

East London Federation The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left comm ...

of Suffragettes and had her artist studio in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

, and co-ordinated all classes of women to campaign together. Haig was in the 1908 delegation with Emmeline Pankhurst, including Jessie Stephenson,

Maud Joachim Maud Joachim (1869 – 1947) was born in 1869 and was educated at Girton College., she was one of the groups of suffragettes that fought to grant women the right to vote in the U.K., she was jailed several times for her protests. Activism She ...

and

Mary Philips Mary Philips (January 23, 1901April 22, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Biography The only child of Charles and Anna (née Hurley) Philips of New Haven, Connecticut, Philips was born in New London, Connecticut, and she was ed ...

, when Mrs Pankhurst was attempting unsuccessfully to see the Prime Minister. A year after the Women's Parliament she was involved with the audacious "pantechnicon raid". This was where a furniture van (pantechnicon) was used as a "Trojan Horse" to get twenty suffragettes to the House of Commons. When they were close, Haig, Maria Brackenbury,

Georgina Brackenbury Georgina "Ina" Agnes Brackenbury (1 July 1865 – 27 July 1949) was a British painter who was known as a militant suffragette. She was jailed for demonstrating for women's rights. She followed Emmeline Pankhurst's lead as she became more militant ...

joined the rest who tried to rush their way into the lobby. Haig was arrested together with the Brackenburys. They received six-week sentences. Haig said on her release that it was'wonderful how each woman who acts influences their own circle. Friends who before may have been but mildly in favour, are converted into active and eager workers for the cause. Coming out is so delightful that the stupidity of the time in Holloway is forgotten'. Haig's imprisonment was celebrated and later hunger strike recognised by the leaders of the movement. She was entitled to the tradition of planting a commemorative tree at the "Suffragette's Rest". The "Suffragette's Rest" was the nickname for

Mary Blathwayt Mary Blathwayt (1 February 1879 – 25 June 1961) was a British feminist, suffragette and social reformer. She lived at Eagle House in Somerset. This house became known as the "Suffragette's Rest" and contained a memorial to the protests of ...

's home of Eagle House in Somerset. This was where Blathwayt's parents indulged their WSPU enthusiasm and welcomed women to recuperate from imprisonment. Her parents had set land aside to plant an individual tree for each WSPU member sentenced to prison for the cause. The planting was then photographed by Blathwayt's father. The trees and the photographs recorded their achievements, known as 'Annie's Arboretum' after suffragette

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

, one of the first to recuperate at the Blathwayts. In 1912 the WSPU organised a mass window breaking campaign in London's

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

. Many were arrested and Haig, taking part despite her sister Cecilia having recently died, broke the windows of D.H.Evans in

and was arrested with her cousin

Janet Boyd Janet Augusta Boyd (née Haig; 1850 – 22 September 1928) was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and militant suffragette who in 1912 went on hunger strike in prison for which action she was awarded the WSPU's Hunger Str ...

and received a four-month sentence for her involvement. Haig immediately went on hunger strike and was subsequently released after four days. Haig was given 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 WSPU.The citation engraved on the bar is 'For Valour' and the inscription says

"PRESENTED BY THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL UNION IN RECOGNITION OF A GALLANT ACTION, WHEREBY THROUGH ENDURANCE TO THE LAST EXTREMITY OF HUNGER AND HARDSHIP A GREAT PRINCIPLE OF POLITICAL JUSTICE WAS VINDICATED."

The medal ribbons were in the WSPU colours of green white and purple. Haig's medal (box is missing) is in the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

. Haig left the East London Federation at the start of World War I and joined Emmeline Pankhurst, Annie Kenney and Mabel Tuke in their halt of militancy and turning to support the war effort. Haig was one of the movement chosen as coffin carriers at Emmeline Pankhurst's funeral in June 1928. Haig died in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

, London in 1952.

Personal life

Haig was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

. She exhibited regularly and joined

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in about 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and ...

in 1934.

References

External links

* Florence E. Haig Metropolitan Polic
charge sheet
– 1 March 1912 {{DEFAULTSORT:Haig, Florence 1856 births 1952 deaths Scottish women painters 19th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish painters Eagle House suffragettes Scottish women artists Scottish suffragists Scottish suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union Hunger Strike Medal recipients