On this day in history : 13th July 1911 – Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison hides in a broom cupboard in the House of Commons so she can record it as her address on the night of the 1911 Census….
Emily Wilding Davison – Public domain
Emily had hidden herself in a cupboard in St. Mary Undercroft, the chapel of the Palace of Westminster…. She remained there throughout the night to avoid being registered in the Census at any other address…. She was discovered by a cleaner the following morning, who reported her – she was arrested but not charged…. Ironically she ended up being recorded on the 1911 Census twice! Once by the Clerk of Works at the House of Commons and again by her landlady at her lodgings….
Having given up her teaching job to work for the cause Emily was an extremely active suffragette…. She was arrested many times, for acts ranging from causing a public disturbance to setting light to post boxes…. She spent several short terms in prison – and was one of the many suffragettes who went on hunger strike…. She even once barricaded herself in her cell – and the guards flooded it with water, nearly filling the room…. Eventually the door had to be broken down…. In 1912, whilst serving a sentence in Holloway, she jumped from a prison balcony in protest of the abuse and force feeding of suffragettes….
Emily Wilding Davison circa 1912/13 – Public domain
Finally on the 4th of June 1913, Emily committed her final act of suffrage at the Epsom Derby…. She ran out onto the racecourse in an attempt to pin a suffrage flag onto the racehorse belonging to King George V – who was watching the race with Queen Mary…. Emily fell beneath the hooves of the horse….she died in hospital on the 8th of June….
Emily Wilding Davison towards the end of her life – Public domain
On this day in history : 12th July 1989 – Judy Leden becomes the first woman to cross the English Channel by hang glider – after being dropped from a hot air balloon 13,500ft above Dover….
Judy Leden MBE – Image credit : Tip.Stall – own work CC BY-SA 3.0
Judy’s flying career had begun whilst she was at university in Cardiff in 1979…. She started competing in 1982, turning professional in 1988 – making her the only woman to earn her living through hang gliding and paragliding…. Her work included films and film stunts, flying displays, teaching and writing…. She was to become the Women’s World Hang Gliding Champion….
In 1989, at the age of 29, she became the first woman to hang glide across the English Channel….a feat first completed in 1977, by Ken Messenger, as the first person ever to do so….
Judy’s flight began at dawn – it was something she had waited a long time to realise as the flight had been postponed for almost a year…. Facing a wind chill factor of -87 degrees centigrade she was launched from a hot air balloon and then made a smooth 30 minute flight across the Channel…. It could be said Judy belongs to a very exclusive club because following her successful crossing the Civil Aviation Authority stated that due to safety reasons it would not allow any further attempts….
Judy is now retired from competitive flying…. In 1989 she was awarded an MBE for services to hang gliding….
On this day in history : 11th July 2005 – The death of actress and dancer Gretchen Franklin – with a career spanning over 70 years but best known to us as Ethel Skinner in the BBC soap ‘EastEnders’….
Gretchen Franklin as Ethel Skinner in EastEnders : Image from the BBC
Gretchen was born on the 7th of July 1911 in Covent Garden, London, into a theatrical family…. Her father was a singer and dancer and her grandfather had been a famous music hall entertainer…. She was also the cousin of Clive Dunn….
She made her stage debut in a pantomime in Bournemouth, as a chorus girl, whilst still a teenager…. In 1929 she began dancing lessons at ‘The Theatre Girls Club’ in Soho – she was to go on to become a Tiller Girl at the London Palladium….
Gretchen married her husband, John Caswell Garth – a writer, occasional actor and the manager of an acting company – in 1934…. They were to have no children and he died of cancer in 1953; Gretchen never remarried….
Her acting career really took off during World War Two, when she was cast in the West End musical ‘Sweet and Low’…. Her film career began in the mid 1950s and she was then to go on to a long and varied television career…. Her appearances included ‘Crossroads’, ‘George and Mildred’, ‘Rising Damp’, ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ and many, many more – but what we really remember Gretchen for most is her role as Ethel, best friends with Dot Cotton and Lou Beale, in ‘EastEnders’….
Dot Cotton, Ethel Skinner, Lou Beale – Fair use
Ethel Mae Skinner – with her little pug dog ‘Willy’, her love to gossip (although rarely getting the facts right) and the odd tipple or two in the Queen Vic…. Ethel was one of the original characters in the soap when it first appeared on our TV screens in 1985…. She was eventually killed off in a controversial episode in July 2000 – when dying of terminal cancer she asked her life long, closest friend, Dot, to help her end her life with an overdose of morphine tablets….
Gretchen’s departure from EastEnders, at the age of 89, ended her acting career…. She died four days after her 94th birthday at her home in Barnes….
On this day in history : 10th July 1040 – To help the people of the town Lady Godiva rides naked through the streets of Coventry to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes….
Lady Godiva by John Collier c.1897 – Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry – Public domain
Whilst the story is most certainly a myth, Lady Godiva was a real person during the 11th Century…. The name ‘Godiva’ is a Latinised form of the Old English ‘Godgifu’ or ‘Godgyfu’ – meaning ‘gift of God’…. She was known for her kindness and her generosity to the Church – but then, so was her husband…. Together they helped found a Benedictine monastery in Coventry….
In the legend Lady Godiva’s husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia is portrayed as greedy and money grabbing – which seems rather unjust – as he was part of a husband and wife benefactor team….such slander would not be acceptable today…. The story of her naked horseback ride only appeared a hundred years or so after her death – when it was recorded by English monk Roger of Wendover, who was often known to ‘spin a good yarn’…. But anyhow, somehow it found its way into our history books – and makes a good tale….
The story goes that Lady Godiva was dismayed at the extortionate taxes that the Earl was levying on the good citizens of Coventry…. Time and time again she pleaded with her husband to be reasonable and to lessen the burden…. Eventually he jested that only if she were to ride naked through the town would he lower the taxes….
Lady Godiva by Edward Blair Leighton, 1892 ‘depicts the moment of decision’ – Public domain
Taking him at his word she ordered the people of Coventry to remain indoors and not to look out of their windows…. She then disrobed, mounted her horse and with only her long flowing hair to afford her some modesty she rode through the town…. Only the temptation to peek was too much for one man – a tailor by the name of Tom…. But the second he clapped eyes on Lady Godiva he was instantly struck blind…. He was the original ‘Peeping Tom’….
True to his word Leofric, Earl of Mercia, held up his end of the bargain and reduced the taxes for the people of Coventry….
Lady Godiva – a statue by Sir William Reid Dick – Broadgate, Coventry – Image credit Cmglee – own work CC BY-SA 3.0
On this day in history: 9th July 1901 – The birth of English romance novelist Dame Barbara Cartland – who was also the step-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales….
Barbara Cartland in 1987 – Allan Warren, own work – CC BY-SA 3.0
Dame Barbara was born Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland in Edgbaston, Birmingham, to Captain Bertram Cartland and Mary Hamilton Scobell…. She was educated at the Alice Ottley School and the Malvern Girls’ College…. At the end of World War One her father was killed and Barbara moved with her mother and two younger brothers to London – and it is then that she began to write….
Her first book ‘Jigsaw’ had been published by the time she had reached her early twenties…. In her writing career she was to write 723 books, which have been translated into some 38 languages…. She is especially known for her romance novels, particularly those set in the Victorian era – but she also wrote plays, drama, verse, magazine articles, music, operetta….and several biographies….
Barbara Cartland in 1925 – Public domain
Becoming known on London’s social scene as one of the ‘Bright Young People’ Barbara was the hostess of some of the most glamorous parties…. It is said she had over 50 proposals of marriage before finally settling for Captain Alexander McCorquodale – ‘Sachie’….a British army officer from Scotland – who was heir to a fortune in the shape of the family printing business…. The couple married on the 23rd of April 1927 and in the September of 1929 she gave birth to a daughter, Raine…. However, the marriage was not set to last and ended in divorce in 1933….
It was during the late 1920s and the 1930s that Barbara was to develop an interest in gliding…. In 1931 she came up with the idea of a ‘long distance tow’ – and she herself undertook a 200 mile tow in a 2-seater glider…. Her idea led to a troop-carrying glider – and later, in 1984, she was awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for her contribution to aviation…. During the 1920s and 30s she could often be found at the Brooklands Airfield and Motor Racing Circuit….
On the 28th of December 1936 she married her former husband’s cousin, Hugh McCorquodale – and went on to have two sons, Ian in 1937 and Glen in 1939…. At the outbreak of World War Two she took her young family to Canada to escape the war but found she was unable to settle and so returned to England…. Once back on home soil she became Chief Lady Welfare Officer to the Services and immersed herself in the war effort and at the same time became involved in politics…. She also served with the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade…. In 1955 she was elected Conservative Councillor for Hertfordshire – and she campaigned for reforms to nursing homes, better pay for midwives and education for traveller children…. She was to serve as Councillor for 9 years – it was during this time that her husband passed away….
During the 1970s her writing success continued to grow – she even entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most prolific author alive…. It was also in this decade that she released an album of love songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra….
1981 saw the marriage of her step-granddaughter, Diana and Prince Charles…. However, Barbara was not invited to the wedding…. Although Barbara and Diana had always got on – Diana was a keen reader of her step-grandmother’s books, who would often send copies to her – a rift had now developed between them…. Barbara was publicly critical of Charles and Diana’s divorce – but the two had made their peace shortly before Diana’s death in 1997….
Barbara was made a Dame in 1991 for almost 70 years of literacy, political and social contributions…. In her later years she was always a popular figure with the media and made many television appearances, including ‘This is Your Life’….twice! Instantly recognisable by her love of pink, blonde wig and heavy makeup, she was iconic, if not also a little formidable….
Image : Pinterest
Dame Barbara carried on writing into her 90s and since her death – peacefully at home on the 21st of May 2000 – many of her 160 unpublished manuscripts have been published posthumously….
Cottage Capers 