What happened to
Emily Wilding Davison Katelynn.J.Beach
Emily wilding Davison was born 11th October 1872 London England. She had a good education and attended Kensengton prep school, Royal Holloway college and oxford university but could not earn a full degree as women where prohibited to. After her education Emily choose to go into teaching ,but she gave it up to become a full time suffragette in 1990. Emily was frequently arrested during her time as a suffragette for acts ranging from public disturbance to burning post boxes and spent a number of short periods in jail. She was arrested in 1909 when she tried to hand a letter to the pime minister Lloyd George .She was also arrested that same year for throwing rocks at Lloyd George’s car on its was to newcastle , but she was releasted after she went on a hunger strike.
In the same year Emily became a full time suffragette she spent a total time of a month in manchesters strangeways prison where she went on hunger strikes. During her time in jail Emily Davison went on many hunger strikes and also barricaded herself in her jail cell. Prison guards flooded her cell with cold water to get her out,but Emily lasted for a long time till her cell was almost filled with the water. It is reported that Emily Wilding Davison went on hunger strike a reported 49 times during her many times in jail.
In 1912 she spent six months at hollway prison where she continued her hunger strikes and was subjected to being force fed. she also jumped off a prison balcony in hopes that“one big tragedy may save many others� and that mayber her deathe would stop the suffering and abuse of her other suffragettes. though Emily Davison survided from this due to netting bellow the balcony.
It is unclear what Emily Davison had in mind on the 4th June 1913 at the Epsom Derby. After the race began she ducked under the railing and made her way onto the track .As the kings horse Anmer came running towards her she put her hands up infrony of her .The horse crashe straight into her and she was struck in the head and collapsed unconsious on the track .Both Emily and the jocky Herbert Jones where injured but the horse was unhurt and finished the race without a rider. Emily Davison was taken to a hospital nearby but she never regained consciousness and died 4 days later on June 8th 1913. It is unknown if Emily intended to kill herself as she had bought a train ticket to allow her to go home after the event. Though it is though that she had a clear view of the trace before she stepped out onto track. A studdy of the images of that day at the derby show that there was a possibility she was trying to attach a suffragette flag to the horses bridal and not pull it down like many thought. Historians have suggested that Emily and other suffragettes where seen “practicing� grabbing horses at a park near Emilys mothers house and that its possible they drew straws to who should go to the derby.
Press reported Emily Wilding Davison as a madwomen but she was seen as a martyr to the cause of the suffragette movement. Supporters of the suffragette movement cam in their thousands to Emily Davisons funeral and 15 years later after her death Britain finally gave women the right to vote. At the funeral of the Leading Suffragette ‘Emmeline pankhurst’ in 1928 Herbert Jones, the jockey on the kings horse at the derby where Emily was struck laid a wreath to both Emmeline and Emily. Herbert Jones claimed he was “Haunted by that womans face” During the derby collision Herbert Jones had suffered from a mild concussion. In 1951 Jone’s son found him dead in a gas filled kitchen as the Jockey had killed himself