The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909[1] and 1914[2] to
suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the
Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on
hunger strike while serving their sentences in the prisons of the
United Kingdom for acts of militancy in their campaign for
women's suffrage. Many women were
force-fed and their individual medals were created to reflect this.[2]
The WSPU awarded a range of military-style campaign medals to raise morale and encourage continued loyalty and commitment to the cause. The Hunger Strike Medals were designed by
Sylvia Pankhurst and first presented by leadership of the
WSPU at a ceremony in early August 1909 to women who had gone on hunger strike while serving a prison sentence. Later the medals would be presented at a breakfast reception on a woman's release from prison.[2]
Background
On 5 July 1909, suffragette
Marion Wallace Dunlop began her hunger strike in
Holloway Prison. She had been sentenced to one month for
stenciling a message from the
Bill of Rights on the wall of the
House of Commons.[3] The prison authorities considered her a criminal prisoner whereas she viewed herself as a
political prisoner and began her strike in objection to this classification. Her strike lasted 91 hours, ending only because the prison released her to avoid her death.[2]
Although the hunger strike was Wallace Dunlop's idea and she did it without informing the leadership of the WSPU, many others quickly imitated her.[2]
Medal description
The round and hallmarked silver medals hang on a length of ribbon in the purple, white and green colours of the
WSPU. This hangs from a silver pin bar engraved with 'For Valour', in imitation of the inscription found on the
Victoria Cross. The front of the medal is inscribed 'Hunger Strike', while the reverse is engraved the recipient's name surrounded by a
laurel wreath.[4] The medals were made by
Toye & Co. and their manufacture cost the
WSPU £1.00 each.[5]
The silver bars on the medal were awarded for periods of hunger strike and are engraved on the reverse with the date that the recipient was arrested leading to a hunger strike. The enamelled purple, white and green bars for
force-feeding are similarly engraved on the reverse.[5]
The sculptor
Edith Downing's medal bar is engraved with 'Fed by Force 1/3/12' - the date that she was imprisoned which subsequently lead to her
hunger strike and forcible feeding.[2] The medals could be issued with more than one bar representing multiple hunger strikes or force-feeding.[5][4]
Presentation
Each Hunger Strike Medal was presented in a purple box with a green velvet lining. A piece of white silk was fitted inside the lid which was printed in gold with the dedication: 'Presented to [name] by the
Women's Social and Political Union in recognition of a gallant action, whereby through endurance to the last extremity of hunger and hardship a great principle of political justice was vindicated'.[5]
Surviving medals
The
Museum of London holds the medal awarded to the suffragette leader Mrs
Emmeline Pankhurst who went on hunger strike during a two-month prison sentence in 1912 for throwing a stone at a window of
10 Downing Street.[2]
Helen MacRae's Hunger Strike Medal in its case was auctioned in 2015 to a private collector, for £12,300,[6] Lockdales Auctioneer's auction manager, James Sadler said 'These are among the most historically important items we have ever dealt with.' [7]
A medal found in a drawer awarded to suffragette
Elsie Wolff Van Sandau who was arrested for smashing a window in
Covent Garden on 4 March 1912 and who went on hunger strike in prison was sold at auction in 2019 for £12,500.[8][9] A medal belonging to suffragette
Selina Martin, auctioned in Nottingham in 2019, expected to fetch £15,000-£20,000[10] was bought by the National Gallery of
Victoria, Australia for £27,000.[11]
In September 2023,
Glasgow Women's Library decided to buy
Maud Joachim's medal as it was awarded for the first WSPU hunger strike in Scotland.[17] The money raising campaign was successful and it was brought back to the library in October.[18]
In popular culture
The
BBC television series
Call the Midwife, featured an episode with an elderly suffragette played by
Annette Crosbie who gifted her Hunger Strike Medal to one the nurses who cared for her.[19]
As of October 2023[update] there are 82 known medal recipients. If known, this list also contains the dates of their arrest as inscribed on their medals.
These women are WSPU hunger strikers who therefore meet the conditions to have been awarded a medal but the evidence of their medal has yet to be located.
NB This does not appear to a full list of the hunger strikers. For example, in January 2022 this Wikipedia page had 9 names with surname beginning P and the Home Office List has 13 [154][155]
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2006). The women's suffrage movement in Britain and Ireland: a regional survey. London: Routledge. p. 306.
ISBN0-415-38332-3.
OCLC59149398.
^Mayhall, Laura E. Nym (2003). The militant suffrage movement: citizenship and resistance in Britain, 1860-1930. [Oxford]: Oxford University Press. p. 3.
ISBN978-0-19-534783-8.
OCLC57144473.
^
ab"Who was Frances Parker?". tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
^
abAustralian Museum of Democracy (7 September 2011).
"Suffragette hunger strike medal". Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
^Atkinson, Diane (1992). Suffragettes in the purple white & green: London 1906-14. Museum of London. London: Museum of London. p. 37.
ISBN0-904818-53-5.
OCLC28710360.
^
abcdefLeneman, Leah (1995). A guid cause: the women's suffrage movement in Scotland (New rev. ed.). Edinburgh: Mercat Press.
ISBN1-873644-48-5.
OCLC34146764.
^
abcWatson, Norman (2018). Dundee's suffragettes: their remarkable struggle to win votes for women. [Scotland?]. p. 57.
ISBN978-1-9999252-0-8.
OCLC1052345952.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Atkinson, Diane (1992). Suffragettes in the purple white & green: London 1906-14. Museum of London. London: Museum of London. p. 105.
ISBN0-904818-53-5.
OCLC28710360.
^
abCrawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 306–307.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Robinson, Jane (2018). Hearts and minds: the untold story of the great pilgrimage and how women won the vote. London. p. 81.
ISBN978-0-85752-391-4.
OCLC987905510.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Owens, Rosemary C. (1995). Smashing times: a history of the Irish women's suffrage movement ; 1889-1922 (Repr ed.). Dublin: Attic Press. p. 63.
ISBN0-946211-08-6.
OCLC634172525.
^"Begbie to Bell". THE LIVES AND ACTIONS OF SUFFRAGETTES AND SUFFRAGISTS. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 457.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Vallely, Judith (2019). Struggle and suffrage in Glasgow: women's lives and the fight for equality. Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
ISBN978-1-5267-1830-3.
OCLC1103320835.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^"Annie Kenney". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^Abrams, Fran (2003). Freedom's cause: lives of the suffragettes. London: Profile. p. 55.
ISBN1-86197-425-6.
OCLC52784753.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 323.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Atkinson, Diane (2018). Rise up, women!: the remarkable lives of the suffragettes. London. pp. 300–301.
ISBN978-1-4088-4404-5.
OCLC1016848621.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Leneman, Leah (1995). A guid cause: the women's suffrage movement in Scotland (New rev. ed.). Edinburgh: Mercat Press. pp. 263–264.
ISBN1-873644-48-5.
OCLC34146764.
^Abrams, Fran (2003). Freedom's cause: lives of the suffragettes. London: Profile. p. 117.
ISBN1-86197-425-6.
OCLC52784753.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 534.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 614–615.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 439–440.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909[1] and 1914[2] to
suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the
Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on
hunger strike while serving their sentences in the prisons of the
United Kingdom for acts of militancy in their campaign for
women's suffrage. Many women were
force-fed and their individual medals were created to reflect this.[2]
The WSPU awarded a range of military-style campaign medals to raise morale and encourage continued loyalty and commitment to the cause. The Hunger Strike Medals were designed by
Sylvia Pankhurst and first presented by leadership of the
WSPU at a ceremony in early August 1909 to women who had gone on hunger strike while serving a prison sentence. Later the medals would be presented at a breakfast reception on a woman's release from prison.[2]
Background
On 5 July 1909, suffragette
Marion Wallace Dunlop began her hunger strike in
Holloway Prison. She had been sentenced to one month for
stenciling a message from the
Bill of Rights on the wall of the
House of Commons.[3] The prison authorities considered her a criminal prisoner whereas she viewed herself as a
political prisoner and began her strike in objection to this classification. Her strike lasted 91 hours, ending only because the prison released her to avoid her death.[2]
Although the hunger strike was Wallace Dunlop's idea and she did it without informing the leadership of the WSPU, many others quickly imitated her.[2]
Medal description
The round and hallmarked silver medals hang on a length of ribbon in the purple, white and green colours of the
WSPU. This hangs from a silver pin bar engraved with 'For Valour', in imitation of the inscription found on the
Victoria Cross. The front of the medal is inscribed 'Hunger Strike', while the reverse is engraved the recipient's name surrounded by a
laurel wreath.[4] The medals were made by
Toye & Co. and their manufacture cost the
WSPU £1.00 each.[5]
The silver bars on the medal were awarded for periods of hunger strike and are engraved on the reverse with the date that the recipient was arrested leading to a hunger strike. The enamelled purple, white and green bars for
force-feeding are similarly engraved on the reverse.[5]
The sculptor
Edith Downing's medal bar is engraved with 'Fed by Force 1/3/12' - the date that she was imprisoned which subsequently lead to her
hunger strike and forcible feeding.[2] The medals could be issued with more than one bar representing multiple hunger strikes or force-feeding.[5][4]
Presentation
Each Hunger Strike Medal was presented in a purple box with a green velvet lining. A piece of white silk was fitted inside the lid which was printed in gold with the dedication: 'Presented to [name] by the
Women's Social and Political Union in recognition of a gallant action, whereby through endurance to the last extremity of hunger and hardship a great principle of political justice was vindicated'.[5]
Surviving medals
The
Museum of London holds the medal awarded to the suffragette leader Mrs
Emmeline Pankhurst who went on hunger strike during a two-month prison sentence in 1912 for throwing a stone at a window of
10 Downing Street.[2]
Helen MacRae's Hunger Strike Medal in its case was auctioned in 2015 to a private collector, for £12,300,[6] Lockdales Auctioneer's auction manager, James Sadler said 'These are among the most historically important items we have ever dealt with.' [7]
A medal found in a drawer awarded to suffragette
Elsie Wolff Van Sandau who was arrested for smashing a window in
Covent Garden on 4 March 1912 and who went on hunger strike in prison was sold at auction in 2019 for £12,500.[8][9] A medal belonging to suffragette
Selina Martin, auctioned in Nottingham in 2019, expected to fetch £15,000-£20,000[10] was bought by the National Gallery of
Victoria, Australia for £27,000.[11]
In September 2023,
Glasgow Women's Library decided to buy
Maud Joachim's medal as it was awarded for the first WSPU hunger strike in Scotland.[17] The money raising campaign was successful and it was brought back to the library in October.[18]
In popular culture
The
BBC television series
Call the Midwife, featured an episode with an elderly suffragette played by
Annette Crosbie who gifted her Hunger Strike Medal to one the nurses who cared for her.[19]
As of October 2023[update] there are 82 known medal recipients. If known, this list also contains the dates of their arrest as inscribed on their medals.
These women are WSPU hunger strikers who therefore meet the conditions to have been awarded a medal but the evidence of their medal has yet to be located.
NB This does not appear to a full list of the hunger strikers. For example, in January 2022 this Wikipedia page had 9 names with surname beginning P and the Home Office List has 13 [154][155]
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2006). The women's suffrage movement in Britain and Ireland: a regional survey. London: Routledge. p. 306.
ISBN0-415-38332-3.
OCLC59149398.
^Mayhall, Laura E. Nym (2003). The militant suffrage movement: citizenship and resistance in Britain, 1860-1930. [Oxford]: Oxford University Press. p. 3.
ISBN978-0-19-534783-8.
OCLC57144473.
^
ab"Who was Frances Parker?". tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
^
abAustralian Museum of Democracy (7 September 2011).
"Suffragette hunger strike medal". Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
^Atkinson, Diane (1992). Suffragettes in the purple white & green: London 1906-14. Museum of London. London: Museum of London. p. 37.
ISBN0-904818-53-5.
OCLC28710360.
^
abcdefLeneman, Leah (1995). A guid cause: the women's suffrage movement in Scotland (New rev. ed.). Edinburgh: Mercat Press.
ISBN1-873644-48-5.
OCLC34146764.
^
abcWatson, Norman (2018). Dundee's suffragettes: their remarkable struggle to win votes for women. [Scotland?]. p. 57.
ISBN978-1-9999252-0-8.
OCLC1052345952.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Atkinson, Diane (1992). Suffragettes in the purple white & green: London 1906-14. Museum of London. London: Museum of London. p. 105.
ISBN0-904818-53-5.
OCLC28710360.
^
abCrawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 306–307.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Robinson, Jane (2018). Hearts and minds: the untold story of the great pilgrimage and how women won the vote. London. p. 81.
ISBN978-0-85752-391-4.
OCLC987905510.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Owens, Rosemary C. (1995). Smashing times: a history of the Irish women's suffrage movement ; 1889-1922 (Repr ed.). Dublin: Attic Press. p. 63.
ISBN0-946211-08-6.
OCLC634172525.
^"Begbie to Bell". THE LIVES AND ACTIONS OF SUFFRAGETTES AND SUFFRAGISTS. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 457.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Vallely, Judith (2019). Struggle and suffrage in Glasgow: women's lives and the fight for equality. Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
ISBN978-1-5267-1830-3.
OCLC1103320835.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^"Annie Kenney". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^Abrams, Fran (2003). Freedom's cause: lives of the suffragettes. London: Profile. p. 55.
ISBN1-86197-425-6.
OCLC52784753.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 323.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Atkinson, Diane (2018). Rise up, women!: the remarkable lives of the suffragettes. London. pp. 300–301.
ISBN978-1-4088-4404-5.
OCLC1016848621.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Leneman, Leah (1995). A guid cause: the women's suffrage movement in Scotland (New rev. ed.). Edinburgh: Mercat Press. pp. 263–264.
ISBN1-873644-48-5.
OCLC34146764.
^Abrams, Fran (2003). Freedom's cause: lives of the suffragettes. London: Profile. p. 117.
ISBN1-86197-425-6.
OCLC52784753.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 534.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 614–615.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.
^Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The women's suffrage movement: a reference guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. pp. 439–440.
ISBN0-415-23926-5.
OCLC44914288.