Mary Gawthorpe

Who was Mary Gawthorpe?

Mary Eleanor Gawthorpe was a British suffragette, socialist, trade unionist and editor, described by Rebecca West as "a merry militant saint".

After qualifying as a teacher in her native Leeds Mary became a socialist and was active in the local branch of the National Union of Teachers. She became increasingly involved in the Women's Suffrage movement and in 1906 she left teaching to become a paid organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union in Leeds. She also spoke at national events including a rally in Hyde Park in 1908 attended by over 200,000 people.

As well as being imprisoned on several occasions for her political activities, Gawthorpe was also badly beaten, suffering serious internal injuries after heckling Winston Churchill in 1909. In January 1910 on Polling Day in Southport, Gawthorpe together with fellow suffragettes Dora Marsden and Mabel Capper, was the subject of a violent assault whilst demonstrating at the polling booths. In the following February, the three suffragettes brought charges against three men for assault.