March is Women’s History Month and the 8th March is International Women’s Day. Jenny Engledow, well known local peace campaigner and an extremely accomplished embroiderer has just completed a banner depicting Mary Clarke. The suffragettes’ processions were central to their campaigning. They used fantastic costumes, flowers, horses, choirs and bands, and above all, beautifully coloured banners, to wonderful effect. Many banners were designed to be carried…
We are delighted to have received a statement of support for our campaign for a statue for Mary Clarke from Katy Bourne OBE, the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner. On 19th February she wrote: “Despite being the first suffragette to die for her cause, Mary Clarke has been largely forgotten by history. She was a determined woman who was not afraid to fight for…
It seems that Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary and Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary plans to back a proposal from the Common Sense Group of Conservative M.P.s that local authorities erect (and fund) civic statues to all holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross (Daily Telegraph 24th January 2021). Admirable and worthy as these individuals are, they are almost exclusively male and in the…
The Daily Telegraph reported (24th January 2021) that Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary and Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary plan to back a proposal from the Common Sense Group of Conservative M.P.s that local authorities erect (and fund) statues to all holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross. It didn’t take long for women’s organisations to point out that such a scheme would exclude women.…
BBC South East Today broadcast a special report today (10th February 2021) about Mary, the “forgotten suffragette”. BBC’s Chrissie Ready interviewed Jean Calder and Briony Goulden from the Appeal and and Terri Bell-Halliwell from inVISIBLEwomen. Terri’s organisation campaigns for more statues and memorials for women. She has been a huge support to the Appeal. Watch from 15 minutes https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s6t1/south-east-today-evening-news-10022021
Lucy Bannerman of The Times wrote an article entitled “Calls for statue to celebrate forgotten suffragette” published 23rd January 2021. We are so grateful for Lucy’s interest and for Andrew Hasson’s wonderful photographs. An invitation from Woman’s Hour followed (broadcast 29th January 2021) and several other media opportunities. We have had donations from as far afield as Wales and Scotland, with many donors commenting that…
Sculptor Denise Dutton has completed and delivered the much anticipated bronze maquette of Mary Clarke, the first suffragette to die for women’s right to vote – and did so in time for Mary’s birthday on 12th December. Cllr Alan Robins, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove received it on behalf of the Appeal and the people of Brighton & Hove in a brief socially-distanced ceremony…
Denise Dutton is in the final stages of completing the bronze maquette or model of the proposed statue of Mary Clarke. The finished wax is at the foundry and, COVID-permitting, the completed bronze should be ready by early December, in time for the anniversary of Mary’s birth on 12th December and of her death on Christmas Day. Our plan is to display the maquette in…
Our patron Elizabeth Crawford, one of the foremost historians of the suffrage movement, recently sent us a photograph of Mary we hadn’t seen before. Elizabeth had found it in the newly digitised records of the Daily Mirror of 29th December 1910, published just days after Mary’s death. We were very excited. We only had 5 decent images of this very retiring woman to show to…
Following months of discussion, research and painstaking work in miniature, our wonderful sculptor Denise Dutton has completed the rough plaster line maquette of Mary. She is now in the process of preparing a resin copy and a mould for the final bronze. Denise has faced many challenges. She has had to work from only 5 photographs, some of which are of poor quality and none…