O.B.E. is a Conservative politician and has served as the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) since 2012. She was  re-elected for a fourth term in 2024. She was raised and schooled in Sussex before graduating from Aberystwyth University. She still lives in mid-Sussex, is married to Kevin and has two adult sons. She was a successful businesswoman before entering politics.

Katy’s role as PCC is to hold the Chief Constable of Sussex Police to account for the performance of the Force, working to make the police answerable to the communities they serve. Katy is responsible for setting the strategic direction and priorities for Sussex Police through the Police & Crime Plan, which includes setting the police budget and local police precept.

Katy also has a statutory duty to commission support services for victims of crime and to deliver community safety initiatives. She is deeply committed to improve the criminal justice response to crimes such as stalking, sexual and domestic abuse and the exploitation and abuse of elders.

Katy said:

“I am honoured to take up the role of Conservative Patron for the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Mary Clarke was a courageous woman who gave her life fighting for women’s right to vote. Her determination and sacrifice remind us of the importance of standing up for equality and justice, even in the face of adversity. As Police & Crime Commissioner, I have seen how far we have come in creating opportunities for women in policing and public life, but we must never forget those who paved the way. Supporting this Appeal is about recognising Mary’s message and memory and ensuring future generations understand the value of democratic rights and the courage it took to secure them. I am delighted to help champion this important cause.” 

Katy opened the recent FiLiA international women’s liberation conference at Brighton Conference Centre, with a powerful speech in support of women’s rights. We were very grateful to Katy because we were able to follow this with an appeal for support for the statue which proved very successful.  

committed and generous than Penny Iveson, someone many local people will remember as a brave and life-long campaigner for women’s rights.

Very sadly Penny died last week at the age of eighty, after a long struggle with cancer that tragically affected her sight and balance and stripped her of her once confident stride. She lost the wild beautiful hair that had been one of her most noticeable features and walked with a new hesitancy, but, as our Trustee Andy Winter has written, “cancer could not blunt that fighting spirit”.

Andy recalls Penny as I do “Tall, elegant with a shock of red hair falling below her shoulders, it wasn’t just her appearance that made an indelible mark. It was also the fire in her belly for social justice, particularly the rights of women, that is unforgettable.” You can read Andy’s Argus article about her here. https://wp.me/pDTWu-2kX?

In her later years, ill and struggling to see, Penny remained  full of fight. From time to time, we’d meet for lunch. We’d often argue. She gave and asked no quarter. 

Over the years Penny was active in almost all areas of feminist campaigning. She’d been a peace campaigner at Greenham Common, then went on to campaign against pornography (well before the internet) and all forms of misogyny and domestic and sexual violence. 

In her last year of life, she became fascinated by the story of Mary Clarke and our campaign to commemorate her and others like her. Penny was fierce in defence of any women or girl subject to sex-based violence – and she admired those, like the suffragettes, prepared to resist injustice and make personal sacrifices in so doing.

She leaves two wonderful daughters and for those of us that knew her, treasured memories. She was a bright star and it is hard to believe she has left us.

Our Green Patron, Caroline Lucas has recently stood down from her service as a member of Parliament. We thank her for her devoted service to our city and wish her a very happy retirement.

We know our Patrons will defend the rights of women and girls, inspired in part by Mary Clarke and the long struggle of the suffragist movement – as well as similar movements for democracy and civil rights. We hope all candidates will do the same.

Note that the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal has cross party support and no party-political affiliation.

marvellous donation to the Appeal. River Isaac and her Mary’s Lamp girls’ group at Balfour School have organised a cake sale at the school, ably supported by teachers and parents. 

Many hours of baking resulted in record sales, with huge numbers of enthusiastic school students involved. The group has now made a donation to the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal of £150.39, having also voted to make a smaller donation to homeless people as well. 

We are so grateful to them and hope that others (including grown-ups) will consider organising cakes sales and coffee mornings for Mary.

We recruited River (10) as our first Child Ambassador, during the period of COVID lockdown when she asked us to help her teacher to organise an on-line sculpture class about Mary Clarke. Since then, along with other young ambassadors, she has helped us with fundraising events, lobbied councillors on our behalf and appeared on television.

Most importantly, inspired by Mary’s example, she has set up a girls’ group called the “Mary’s Lamp Group”. This is growing and developing with the support of the school. The group arranged a power point presentation about Mary which was delivered by them in school assembly. As a result a huge number of girls and boys now know about this previously forgotten heroine. The group also helped organise a stall at the school’s summer fair, making and selling “Mary Cakes”.

River and the others have been very inspired by Mary Clarke’s  courage. In particular, River tells us, she was struck by Isabella McKeown’s words after Mary’s death, when she told fellow suffragettes not to mourn Mary in silence, but to “..take the torch from her and light the darkness”. These striking words have fired many people’s imaginations, including that of our sculptor.

Denise Dutton’s design for the statue shows Mary in the last days of her life, standing tall, but having laid down a lamp for others to pick up. 

We hope that many other young people (boys as well as girls) will take up the challenge, to secure equal rights, in particular the rights of women and girls, as well as respect for democracy.

her teacher to organise an on-line sculpture class about Mary Clarke for Balfour School in Brighton.

This we did and subsequently asked River to become our first Child Ambassador for the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Since then she has helped us with fundraising events and lobbied councillors on our behalf. 

River has been very inspired by Mary’s courage. In particular, she tells us, she was struck by Isabella McKeown’s words after Mary’s death, when she told fellow suffragettes not to mourn Mary in silence, but to “..take the torch from her and light the darkness”. These striking words have fired many people’s imaginations, including that of our sculptor.

Denise Dutton’s design for the statue shows Mary in the last days of her life, standing tall, but having laid down a lamp for others to pick up.

Now, with the support of Balfour School’s head teacher and other senior staff members, River has set up a girls’ group at her school, which she has called Mary’s Lamp. All its members are nine years old and are in Year 4.

The girls have started to meet regularly, and recently, led by River, they recently delivered a very successful power point presentation about Mary Clarke to two full assemblies at the school. They took along photos, leaflets and badges and, most importantly, our resin maquette of Mary and a realistic  model of the lamp itself, both of which were made by Denise Dutton. 

Addressing hundreds of fellow students must have been

daunting, but the girls took it in their stride. Teachers have told us the presentations were extremely successful. 

We are lost in admiration and so grateful to the girls and their teachers. We hope that other primary schools will follow their example, finding a way to tell Mary’s story, while at the same time encouraging and empowering girls – and teaching all children about the importance of women’s rights and democracy.

We are thrilled to have been invited to have a stall at Balfour School’s Summer Fair on 16th July.

We are delighted that the best selling author Peter James has agreed to serve as a Patron and has made a generous donation.

Peter James is best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, now a hugely popular ITV drama starring John Simm. Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists and accurate portrayal of modern-day policing, he has won over forty awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger. 

To date, Peter has written an impressive total of nineteen Sunday Times Number ones, sold over twenty one million copies worldwide and been translated into thirty eight languages. His books are also often adapted for the stage, the most recent being Looking Good Dead. He has donated £1000 to the Appeal.

Peter James said:

“Mary Clarke was an extraordinary woman who fought tirelessly to support votes for women. She was a determined campaigner who never gave up and sadly became the first woman to die for such an important cause. This statue is such a significant recognition for all she set in motion, both for Brighton and for women’s rights throughout the world, and I am delighted to be supporting it .”

Jean Calder, Chair of the Appeal, said:

“ We are so grateful to Peter James for his support and his generosity, as well as to our other wonderful Patrons. We are hoping Peter’s support and generosity will encourage others to give. Our current target is £35,000, which we hope very much to raise by the end of next year. We are also seeking corporate sponsors and hope that Peter James’ involvement will encourage this. Donations to the Appeal can be made via the website maryclarkestatue.com.”

Ambassador. She is River Isaac who is 8 years old and in year four at Balfour Primary School in Brighton.

We first came across River during lockdown at the height of the pandemic, when she and her mother Paula contacted our chosen sculptor Denise Dutton to ask if she could help with an online art lesson about the proposed sculpture. River had read an article about Mary Clarke during the Christmas holidays and wanted to know more about her. This led to an online interview with Denise Dutton and Jean Calder led by River’s class teacher Nick Huxley which was played to the class, all of whom were working from home. River also put together a PowerPoint presentation for the class.

River’s interest in the suffragettes is not new. Two years ago, River attended a class trip to Preston Manor at which the children were encouraged to dress up as Victorian or Edwardian servants. River dressed as a suffragette rather than a maidservant because she wanted to highlight the importance of women’s struggle to vote.

When the maquette of Mary was first displayed at the Jubilee Library, River was  amongst the first to view it, along with her mother Paula and sisters Esther and Kitty. Over the summer, River and her family supported fundraising events the Appeal held in the Pavilion Gardens – even in pouring rain. 

Jean Calder, who is the Appeal’s Chair of Trustees, said: “River has demonstrated her ability to influence others for the good. She has a thirst for knowledge, a love of outdoor activities and, young as she is, a track record of supporting local charities. We have been struck by her passion for women’s rights and equality, her enthusiasm to learn about the suffrage struggle and her keenness to inform others about it. This is why we asked her to be our first Child Ambassador. We are so glad she agreed.”

River says she has been inspired by the design of the statue, which, amongst other things, has a lamp placed at Mary’s feet and quotes local suffragette leader Isabella McKeown’s instruction to the grief-stricken women at Mary’s 1911 memorial service in the Royal Pavilion “not to mourn” but to “take the torch from her and light the darkness…”.

River said: “I want to be a part of the  Appeal.  Mary Clarke was the first suffragette so brave that she died for women’s right to vote. I think she deserves a statue to remember her. I want to pick up the lamp depicted in the statue, that Mary has laid down. I want to take it up and continue girls’ and women’s fight for equality.”

The trustees hope River’s appointment will encourage others to take up this role. They hope to appoint ambassadors in as many schools as possible, to raise awareness of Mary Clarke and the local suffragette movement, encourage related educational activities and spark discussion about women’s rights and democracy.