![Katharine Gatty January 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Katharine_Gatty_January_1913.jpg)
Katharine Gatty (11 June 1870 – 1 May 1952) was a nurse, journalist, lecturer
[ and militant suffragette. As a prominent member 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), she received from them the 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 ...
after going on a 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 ...
in prison during which she was force-fed
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...
. In her later years she resided in California in the United States before emigrating to Australia, where she spent her last years.
Early years
Of Irish descent through her mother,[A.S.U to Hear Union Speaker: Feminist to Relate experiences in Italy]
- ''The Stanford Daily
''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the ...
'', Volume 93, Issue 8, 9 February 1938 Emma Katharine Gatty was born in Ferozopur in Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in India in 1870 to Emma Rebecca ''née'' Collum (1844-1929) and Captain Edward Gatty (1837-1872) of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot
The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.
History Earl ...
.[Fermanagh’s forgotten Suffragette]
- ''Fermanagh Herald
The ''Fermanagh Herald'' is a weekly newspaper published and sold mainly in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situat ...
'' 8 March 2018 By 1881 she and her widowed mother were living in Hammersmith in London.[London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932 for Emma Katharine Gatty - Islington, St Mary, Islington, 1891-1894 - Ancestry.com ]
/ref> Her career as a Liberal started at age 18, when she took part in the Great Dock Strike of 1889.[
In 1908 Gatty was a delegate to the International Congress of Women in ]Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
.[
]
Activism
After joining the Ealing 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 ...
[Liz Stanley]
''The Auto/biographical I: The Theory and Practice of Feminist Auto/biography''
Manchester University Press (1992) - Google Books pg. 236 Gatty became a militant suffragette, on one occasion chaining herself to the gates at Hyde Park.[ In the suffragette publication '']Votes For Women
A vote is a formal method of choosing in an election.
Vote(s) or The Vote may also refer to:
Music
*''V.O.T.E.'', an album by Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo, 2004
*"Vote", a song by the Submarines from ''Declare a New State!'', 2006
Television
* " ...
'' Gatty was described as a journalist and lecturer. She was first imprisoned in 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 ...
in 1909 for one month. In 1911 she was a salaried member of the Women's Tax Resistance League in London.[Elizabeth Crawford]
''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928''
University College London Press (1999) - Google Books In November 1911 Gatty was sentenced to three weeks imprisonment in Holloway Prison[All England, Suffragettes Arrested, 1906-1914 results for Katherine Gatty - Ancestry.com ]
/ref> after taking part in a campaign of window smashing after the government 'torpedoed' the anticipated Conciliation Bill which was seen as a progressive step towards achieving women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to 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 grant women the right to vot ...
.[ In Holloway she went on ]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 ...
for which action she received 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 ...
from the leadership of the WSPU.[Mrs Emma Katharine Gillett Gatty - Women's Suffrage: History and citizenship resources for schools]
/ref>
In January 1912 she was again arrested while causing a disturbance when women had been excluded from the trial of Emily Davison
Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant figh ...
, but this time she was released without charge. Gatty was a close friend of fellow-suffragette Davison (in May 1913 Gatty invited Davison for tea)[ who was killed when she ran in front of the horse of King ]Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
at the 1913 Derby.[
]
In March 1912 Gatty took part in a further campaign of window smashing in March 1912 on behalf of the WSPU
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 ...
for which she was sentenced to six months imprisonment for smashing glass valued at £42.[ At her trial she said that men were allowed to break women’s hearts and homes without punishment and contrasted her sixth month sentence for minor property damage to the two month sentence an Edinburgh man received for breaking his wife’s skull. In her opinion, property was worth more in the eyes of the law than a person. Her signature was among those embroidered on ]The Suffragette Handkerchief
The Suffragette Handkerchief is a handkerchief displayed at The Priest House, West Hoathly in West Sussex, England. It has sixty-six embroidered signatures and two sets of initials, mostly of women imprisoned in HMP Holloway for their part in the ...
in Holloway Prison, which was kept afterwards by fellow prisoner Mary Ann Hilliard
Mary Ann Hilliard (1860–1950) was an Irish nurse and suffragette. She was arrested for breaking windows in March 1912, and while imprisoned contributed to the Suffragette Handkerchief.
Biography
Mary Ann Hilliard was born in Cork in 1860, ...
. In prison in April 1912 Gatty again went on 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 ...
which "lasted from dinner time on Sat. 13 till breakfast time on Friday 19 inclusive (6 days). Doctors began F.f. on the Wed. and they tried to feed me on Thursday 3 times but failed." In June of the same year she again went on 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 ...
and was force-fed 13 times. On her release from prison in August 1911 she was immediately rearrested for smashing a window at the post office in Abergavenny in Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, stating that she had done so to protest against the exclusion of women from such official lists as the electoral register. On this occasion Gatty received one month in prison with hard labour which had a serious effect on her health.[ In the latter stages of 1912 Gatty became Secretary to the ]Suffrage Atelier
Suffrage Atelier was an artists' collective campaigning for women's suffrage in England. It was founded in February 1909 by Laurence Housman, Clemence Housman and Alfred Pearse. Clemence was a writer, illustrator, and wood engraver, and her brot ...
(SA),[ an organisation of suffrage artists in London who created and printed postcards, posters and banners for the ]women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to 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 grant women the right to vot ...
movement.[
By 1913 Gatty was an organiser for the ][ while in her later years she had links to the ]Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
,[ regularly corresponding with the journalist and activist ]Anna Louise Strong
Anna Louise Strong (November 24, 1885 – March 29, 1970) was an American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.Archives West,Anna Loui ...
.[Miranda Garrett and Zoë Thoma]
''Suffrage and the Arts: Visual Culture, Politics and Enterprise''
Bloomsbury (2019) - Google Books pg. 85 In total she was imprisoned nine times for her activities on behalf of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to 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 grant women the right to vot ...
and the movement to abolish capital punishment. Gatty was an active member of the International Coordination Committee for Aid to Republican Spain, and was one of the organisers of the Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...
in England in addition to being a lifelong advocate of Irish Home Rule
The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...
.[ Gatty trained as a nurse in the early 1920s, qualifying in 1924. It was at this time she began a correspondence with the activist for socialism and sexual revolution Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira. Gatty was still on the Nursing Register in 1934.
In January 1893 in St Mary’s church in Islington she married William Lewis Reid (1858–1923)][ of the Reid & Sons family of silversmiths. Their daughter Eve Lewis Reid was born in December 1893. In 1911 Reid divorced her following her adultery with a John Manson between 1897 and 1910. She and Manson lived together as husband and wife and Reid alleged she had given birth to Manson's child in 1898. In 1915 she married Ernest Lucas Gillett (1882-1954), a clerk in the Civil Service. The couple adopted the surname Gillett-Gatty.][England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Ernest Lucas Gillett (1954) - Ancestry.com ]
/ref>
Later life
In September 1934 Gatty, representing Action Feministe Internationale, attended a conference on 'Ethiopia and Justice' organised 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 ...
at the Central Hall, Westminster
The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building, which is a tourist attraction, also ho ...
. In the mid-1930s she lived for a period in Greece. In 1937 Gatty, describing herself an author "writing a book" and a widow despite the fact her husband was still alive,[ moved to California to the United States, residing there during the 1940s. In 1938 the "humorous, witty Irishwoman, Mrs. Gillett-Gatty" spoke at a meeting of the ]American Student Union
The American Student Union (ASU) was a national left-wing organization of college students of the 1930s, best remembered for its protest activities against militarism. Founded by a 1935 merger of Communist and Socialist student organizations, the ...
at Stanford University in California on "Fascism in Italy and Its Threat to the Democratic Ideal" in which she related her own experiences in Italy before and after Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's rise to power.[
Emma Katharine Gillett-Gatty emigrated to ]Strathfield
Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...
in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Australia in 1947, and here she died in 1952 aged 81.[ In her will she donated her eyes to two blind people, in it stating: "About my own carcase, first, that both my eyes be enucleated if possible within eight hours of my demise, so that corneally blind persons may each receive one. Next, I be cremated or buried at sea."][Bequeathed Her Eyes to Two Blind People in Aust. ''Morning Bulletin'' (Rockhampton, Queensland: 1878 - 1954) - 7 August 1953, Page 1]
/ref>
The Archive of the Women's Library
The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...
at the London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
holds 12 of her letters sent from prison.Autograph Letter Collection: Militant Suffragettes
- The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatty, Katharine
1870 births
1952 deaths
Irish suffragettes
British feminists
British women's rights activists
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom
Women's Social and Political Union
Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales
People of Anglo-Irish descent
Hunger Strike Medal recipients
English tax resisters