Marjery Bryce (1891 - 1973) was a British suffragette and actor, rode dressed as

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

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 and ...

parades in support of votes for women.

Family

Born Margaret Vincentia on 18 June 1891 in Marylebone, London, to politician father

John Annan Bryce John Annan Bryce (1841 – 25 June 1923) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. Background and family He was the son of the politician and geologist James Bryce and his wife Margaret Young, daughter of James Young. His elder brother ...

and mother Violet L'Estrange. Bryce was variously known as Marjery, Marjorie or Marjery Vincentia and Marjorie Annan. She had

two brothers Two Brothers may refer to: Films * ''Two Brothers'' (1929 film), a 1929 German silent film, directed by Mikhail Dubson * ''Two Brothers'' (2004 film), a 2004 French-British film, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud * ''The Two Brothers'' (film), a ...

and a sister three years younger, Rosalind L'Estrange, known as 'Tiny'. One brother, Nigel, died at the age of nineteen. Her other brother Roland, was later to be one of the commissioners in 1922 to lay out the borders for Yugoslavia. Her father was Liberal MP for the Inverness Burghs, voted against the

Conciliation Bill Conciliation bills were proposed legislation which would extend the right of women to vote in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to just over a million wealthy, property-owning women. After the January 1910 election, an all-party Con ...

which was to give some women the franchise and wrote letters to the press against women's suffrage. Her mother, Violet held the opposite view and was a cousin to

Countess Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the firs ...

and

Eva Gore-Booth Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth (22 May 1870 – 30 June 1926) was an Irish poet, theologian, and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, the younger sister of C ...

, both activists for women's rights. Bryce remained single.

Role in Women's Suffrage movement

Bryce joined 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 and ...

(WSPU) parade at the age of nineteen was portraying 'the perfect woman' riding on a white horse dressed in full armour with a banner in the style of

, leading the forty thousand strong Women's Procession on 17 June 1911, before George V's Coronation. Her sister Rosalind "Tiny" Bryce was dressed as a page and led the horse's bridle. This demonstration was to encourage support of the proposed Conciliation Bill, which would have given the franchise to women who owned property. The image of Saint Joan was seen to represent 'the militant women's ideal....in every act of hers they recognize the same spirit as that which strengthens them to risk their liberty and endure torture for the sake of freedom'. And the leaders of WSPU,

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 Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence (; 21 October 1867 – 11 March 1954) was a British women's rights activist and suffragette. Early life Pethick-Lawrence was born in Bristol as Emmeline Pethick. Her father, Henry Pethick, w ...

and Mabel Tuke led the parade, with groups of women's trades and professions, or, like Bryce, dressed as famous women from the past. Christabel in particular felt the image of Joan of Arc included the willingness to undertake physical hardship and emphasised the martial (masculine) qualities as an image of fighting for a cause of right. This was summed up a ' the loveliness of simplicity, purity, courage and militancy' which Bryce was acting in this parade and was an image used by WSPU as a symbol. 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, London, Gui ...

has the original copyright image of Bryce as Joan of Arc cited in many of the references above. In other suffragette parades, Joan of Arc was also portrayed by

Elsie Howey Rose Elsie Neville Howey (1 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), known as Elsie Howey, was an English suffragette. She was a militant activist with the Women's Social and Political Union and was jailed at least six times between 1908 and 1912. Earl ...

Acting career

Bryce played the London stage for example, in the role of Nina Zarechnaya in ''The Seagull'' (1919), appeared in ''The Cloud that Lifted'' (1932) after performing in ''Other Gates'' in the Grafton Theatre, London in 1931, and was the Red Queen in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (in 1938 and again in1947). In 1927 she took the role of 'The Spirit of Henley' in the Henley Historical Pageant. Her entry in 1939 '

The Spotlight ''The Spotlight'' was a weekly newspaper in the United States, published in Washington, D.C. from September 1975 to July 2001 by the now-defunct antisemitic Liberty Lobby. ''The Spotlight'' ran articles and editorials professing a "populist and na ...

' theatrical casting directory describes her as a straight, comedy or character performer. Bryce was later known for her roles in

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's ''Ten Little Niggers'' (1949), appearing in

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

''Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950s) and appeared in a BBC series ''The Bell Family'' (1951 ).

Death

Bryce died on 8 June 1973, in Fulham London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce, Margery 20th-century British actresses 1891 births 1973 deaths Women's Social and Political Union British women's rights activists People from Marylebone 20th-century French women