1. Emily Davison A terrible accident or a martyr for women and the vote?

2. What is a martyr? Were the suffragettes martyrs? Can you think of anything they did which made them martyrs? “Someone who is killed for something they believe in…”

3. This is Emily Davison - What type of woman was she? Write down 5 words you would use to describe her…

4. Emily Wilding Davison was a middle class, well educated women who came from a loving family. She went to Oxford and London university where she studied Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Literature. Emily joined the Suffragettes in 1906 and quickly gained a reputation as a militant - or violent campaigner and was arrested several times. She went to Strangeways prison and Holloway prison. On the 5 th June 1913 Emily Davison was at one of the world famous horse races – The Derby at Epsom When this happened…

6. Emily Wilding Davison died from her injuries 4 days later. Her skull had been fatally fractured Our task today is to investigate the mystery of Emily’s death We will need to make a judgement as to whether her death was a deliberate act or a horrible accident…

7. The Death of Emily Davison Was it a terrible accident or was she a martyr for women and the vote? Learning Objective: To decide whether Emily Davison committed suicide or was killed in a tragic accident At the end of the lesson: You will have analysed and examined evidence about Emily Davison and her death You will have made a judgement about her death and answered the key question, supported by the evidence

8. You will now act as independent enquirers and examine 7 pieces of evidence You will need to look at each piece of evidence and decide whether it supports … Her death was a terrible accident Her death was planned and she is a martyr for women and the vote Let’s look at the first piece of evidence together… What does any detective need to solve a mystery? EVIDENCE

9. Evidence A: Emily Davison’s prison record. She was a very militant suffragette who believed in ’deeds not words’. March 1909: One month in prison for obstruction (blocking a road) September 1909: Two months for stone throwing November 1909: One month for stone throwing November 1910: One month for breaking windows January 1912: Six months for setting fire to post boxes November 1912: Ten days for assaulting a vicar who she mistook for member of parliament

10. SourceEvidence to support whether her death was a terrible accident or if she was a martyr for women and the vote? Evidence A: Emily Davison’s prison record. Martyr - Emily was a very militant suffragette, her actions seemed to get more extreme and in November 1912 she even assaulted a vicar. Evidence B: From a book by G Colmore – ‘The Life of Emily Davison’. Now examine the rest of the evidence…

11. Evidence B: From a book by G Colmer - The life of Emily Davison “She was able to go to the Suffragette Summer festival (a week long meeting for hundreds of Suffragettes) on the opening day, Tuesday 3rd June. Emily was never brighter than on that day. She stayed long at the fair and said she should come every day, “except tomorrow. I’m going to the Derby tomorrow” “What are you going to do?” “Ah ha” - it was her usual answer when she had planned something. “Look in the evening paper, and you will see something and then we will talk…”

12. Evidence C: From an eyewitness who stood near to Emily on the day of the Derby. “The Kings horse, Anmer, came up and Ms Davison went towards it. She put up her hand, but whether it was to catch hold of the reins or protect herself, I don't know. It was all over in a few seconds. The horse knocked her over with great force and then stumbled and fell, throwing the jockey violently onto the ground. Both he and Ms Davison were bleeding a lot. I feel sure that Ms Davison meant to stop the horse and that she didn't go onto the course thinking the race was over.”

13. Evidence D: From Sylvia Pankhurst’s book—The Suffrage Movement “Her friend declared that she would not have died without writing a farewell message to her mother. Yet she sewed the suffragette flags inside her coat as though to make sure that no mistake could be made as to her motive when her body was discovered.”

14. Evidence E: Part of the official report surrounding Davison’s death. She had asked for the flags a few days before the race meeting. OFFICIAL POLICE REPORT 2 large suffragette flags pinned inside the back of her coat; 1 purse containing 3 shillings, 8 pence and 3 farthings); 8 postage stamps; 1 key; 1 helper pass for the Suffragette summer festival; 1 notebook; 1 handkerchief; some envelopes and writing paper; 1 race card; 1 return railway ticket.

15. Evidence F: Taken from the writings of Emily Davison herself. The events occurred in Holloway prison, two weeks before her release after a 6 month sentence for arson. “As soon as I got the chance I threw myself over the prison railings. The idea was that my tragedy would save many others; the netting prevented any injury. Then I threw myself down an iron staircase, a distance of 10-13 meters, but the netting caught me again. I felt I had only one chance left, so I hurled myself head first down a staircase. I landed on my head with a mighty thud and was knocked out. When I recovered I was in agony.”

16. Evidence G: An eyewitness account of Davison in the weeks before the race. “I saw Emily Davison several times on Morpeth moors. She kept grabbing at the reigns to stop the horses and their riders. Davison was pinning suffragette banners to the sides of each horse before letting them continue. She did this several times.”

17. Judgement Time… Although the actions of the Suffragettes had been getting more shocking and more militant no suffragette had ever died before… Did Emily Davison want to be the first and become a martyr for women and the vote or was it just a terrible and tragic accident? What do you think? Can you explain using the evidence to support your final answer?

18. IL – Newspaper article Your task is to create a newspaper front page and article where you can write up your final judgement and reflect on the death of Emily Davison’s death You will need a newspaper name, headline and then a write up of what happened and your final answer You will need to show research… what happened where it happened and when Pictures of Emily (before her death and the event) Briefly explain what happened and then make your judgement. All information is on the IL planner where you will find a link to moodle and all the evidence from today. DUE DATE – 17 th April, after the Easter holidays.