Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was a militant women's suffrage activist. On 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self-destructive or violent, she stepped in front of a horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.[1]
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Davison was born in Blackheath, London, the daughter of Charles Davison (of Morpeth, Northumberland) and Margaret Davison (of Longhorsley, Northumberland), with two sisters and a brother, and many half-siblings (from her father's first second and third marriages) including a half-brother, retired naval captain Henry Jocelyn Davison, who gave evidence at her inquest.[2]
She was a good performer at her primary school. She later attended Kensington High School and won a bursary to Royal Holloway College in 1891 to study literature.[3]. Subsequently she was forced to drop out when her father died and her recently widowed mother could not afford the fees of £20 a term. She then took up employment as a private governess.[3] She then became a school teacher in Edgbaston and Worthing,[4] raising enough money to study Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and obtained first-class honours in her final exams, though women were not at that time admitted to degrees at Oxford. She also obtained a first class honours degree from London University.[3] She then obtained a post teaching the children of a family in Berkshire and in 1906 joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Formed in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, the WSPU brought together those who felt strongly that militant, confrontational tactics were needed in order to achieve women's suffrage.[3] In 1908, Davison left her teaching post to dedicate herself completely to the movement.
She gained a reputation as a militant and violent campaigner. On her own initiative and without WSPU approval, her actions developed from disrupting meetings to stone throwing and arson.[3] She was arrested and imprisoned for various offences nine times, including a violent attack on a man she mistook for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George. She went on hunger strike in Strangeways Prison and was force-fed. She attempted suicide twice while in Strangeways by throwing herself down an iron staircase. She suffered severe head and spinal damage, causing discomfort for the rest of her life.[3]
On 2 April 1911, the night of the 1911 census, Davison hid in a cupboard in the Palace of Westminster overnight so that on the census form she could legitimately give her place of residence that night as the "House of Commons".[5] The 1911 census documents that were uncovered state that Emily Wilding Davison was found 'hiding in the crypt' in the Houses of Parliament.[6] In 1999 a plaque to commemorate the event was set in place by Tony Benn MP.[7]
In 1913, she planted a bomb at Lloyd George's newly built house in Surrey, damaging it severely.[8]
Davison's purpose in attending the Derby of 4 June 1913 is unclear. Much has been made of the fact that she purchased a return rail ticket and also a ticket to a suffragette dance later that day, suggesting that martyrdom was not her intention.[9]
A possibility of her reason for entering the race track was that she was trying to attach a flag to the horse owned by King George V, so that when the horse crossed the finishing line, it would be flying the WSPU flag. Evidence for this was that she had supposedly been seen, in the weeks before, stopping horses in the park near her house. However, this is only one of many theories.
Pathé News captured the incident on film, showing Davison, carrying the banner of the WSPU, stepping out in front of the horse, Anmer, as it rounded Tattenham Corner. The horse fell, knocking Davison to the ground, unconscious. Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with many believing that she had simply intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; while others reported that she had attempted to pull down the King's horse.
She died four days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital, due to a fractured skull and internal injuries caused by the incident. Herbert Jones, the jockey who was riding the horse, suffered a mild concussion in the incident, but was "haunted by that woman's face" for much longer. In 1928, at the funeral of Emmeline Pankhurst, Jones laid a wreath "to do honour to the memory of Mrs Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison". In 1951, his son found Jones dead in a gas-filled kitchen.[10]
Davison is buried in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin, Morpeth, in a family plot, her father having died in 1893. The cemetery is close to Longhorsley, where she had lived with her mother. The funeral attracted a large crowd. Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan, "Deeds not words". A funeral was held in London on 14 June 1913 and her coffin was brought by train to Morpeth for burial on 15 June.
Davison's action may have harmed the suffragette cause rather than furthered it, as the Monarchy was highly respected in Britain at the time. [11]
She is the subject of a song by American rock singer Greg Kihn, whose elegy "Emily Davison" is included on his first album, 1976's Greg Kihn.
She is also referenced in the song titled "Emily Davison Blues" by indie, folk, rock singer-songwriter Grace Petrie, from Leicester, UK. The song was written and performed after the protests in the UK in 2010/2011, particularly those relating to increasing HE tuition fees.
A new road, built next to Tattenham Corner Railway Station, has been named "Emily Davison Drive" in her memory.
Two artists (Hester Reeve and Olivia Plender) are currently campaigning for a new holiday in commemoration of her; Emily Davison Day, due to take place on 4 June every year.
The archives of Emily Davison are held at The Women's Library at London Metropolitan University, ref 7EWD