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Gertrude Catherine Townend was a British nurse and suffragette. She provided, with Nurse
Townend and Pine's nursing home was watched by police looking for escaped suffragettes, due to return to prison to finish their sentences. At the home, medical assistance was provided by Dr. 
In October 1913, Townend was herself injured when there was a crush as detectives raided the Bow Baths Hall meeting, where
Catherine Pine
Catherine Emily Pine (7 May 1864 – 14 August 1941) was active in the women's suffrage movement in Britain. She took care of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and her son Henry. Pine travelled with Pankhurst until she decided to move back to B ...
, a care home for suffragettes recovering from imprisonment and force-feeding, and participated in suffragette gatherings.
Nursing career
Gertrude Townend trained atSt Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
in London, qualified in 1901 and became a sister at (Great) Ormond Street Hospital. By 1908, she was running a private nursing home with Nurse Catherine Pine in 3 Pembridge Gardens, Notting Hill, London.
Suffragette activism
Townend and Pine's nursing home was watched by police looking for escaped suffragettes, due to return to prison to finish their sentences. At the home, medical assistance was provided by Dr. Flora Murray
Flora Murray (8 May 1869 – 28 July 1923)Flora Murray
findagrave.com was a Scottish medical pioneer, ...
, a fellow suffragette. The service provided by Townend was particularly used by women released from prison temporarily, to recover after becoming seriously ill during force-feeding under the "findagrave.com was a Scottish medical pioneer, ...
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 Un ...
".
Townend helped Pine look after Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
's son Harry, prior to an examination under anaesthesia, at Pembridge Gardens from the farm he was staying on when he took an acute inflammation of the bladder. She trusted Townend and Pine to care for him while she travelled.
For the event on 18 June 1910, Townend was named in ''The British Journal of Nursing
''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...
'' as the contact with Nurse Catherine Pine, for nurses in uniform wishing to parade with the women's march from Embankment to the Royal Albert Hall which ultimately attracted 10,000, including international. occupational and regional groups, walking in their relevant contingents.
In 1912, after a campaign by ''The British Journal of Nursing
''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...
'' and the Men's League for Women's Suffrage The Men's League for Women's Suffrage may refer to:
*The Men's League, United States women's suffrage group, also known as the Men's Equal Suffrage League and the Men's League for Women's Suffrage
*The Men's League for Women's Suffrage (United King ...
, Townend cared for Ellen Pitfield who had been released from prison after an arson incident, at the nursing home on Pembridge Gardens although she died a few weeks later.
These nurses also helped Christabel Pankhurst
Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...
stay overnight and then escape to France after the raid on Clements Inn, by letting her dress in Townend's nurse's uniform to avoid suspicion as she left.
In October 1913, Townend was herself injured when there was a crush as detectives raided the Bow Baths Hall meeting, where 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 ...
was speaking, under the above Act. Sylvia escaped to be arrested the next day.
References