Scottish Suffragette Societies

The building at 2 St. Andrews Square, in Edinburgh, was the headquarters of the Scottish Suffragette Societies. It is quite probable that had I not walked past the sign on the day I did I might not have remembered a bigger connection. As I glanced up and saw the unobtrusive sign, I remembered an article I had read a few days before in The Guardian commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of a key event in women’s suffrage in Britain. Protesting for women’s suffrage, Emily Davison, on 1 June 1913, stepped in front of the King’s horse during the Epson Derby and was fatally injured. There is a debate among historians today as to whether she intended to disrupt the race or commit suicide to draw attention to the cause. Some doubt that she wanted to commit suicide because a return ticket was found in her pocket after her death. Whatever the case, Davison death was a seminal event in British political history.

The women’s suffrage movement in London has been well documented; however, less attention has been paid to the Scottish movement. Without research, very little would be gleaned from the simple plaque that adorns the building. In a city filled with statues and memorials, the significance of women’s suffrage has yet to be recognized.

At a different location on the building, another plaque notes that the building also housed the offices of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service, a private organization that provided nursing and relief work during the First World War. Although the government considered a similar scheme to allow women to serve as nurses during the war, it was ultimately rejected. Nevertheless, as noted at the dedication of the memorial, many woman from the Scottish Women’s Hospitals both provided an invaluable and heroic service and several members died during the war.  

Update (posted 9 July 2013):

For more about the life and death of Emily Davison, see Marina Warner’s article in the London Review of Books.