Rose Elsie Neville Howey (1 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), known as Elsie Howey, was an English

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

. She was a militant activist with the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

and was jailed at least six times between 1908 and 1912.

Early life

Rose Elsie Neville Howey was born in

Finningley Finningley is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically in Nottinghamshire, it lies on the A614 road between Bawtry and Thorne, about 6 miles south-east of Doncaster, at , and around 23 feet a ...

in 1884 to Thomas Howey, the parish's rector, and Emily Gertrude (née Oldfield). When her father died in 1887, the family moved to

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which gre ...

. In 1902 Howey began studying English, French and German at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. She left the university in 1904 so that she could travel to Germany, where she first came into contact with the

women's rights movement Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

Activism

left, In 1909 Howey was invited to, Eagle House, the home of

Nordmann Fir ''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900–2,200 m on mountains with precipi ...

. The honour was given to leading suffragettes Howey joined the

(WSPU), a militant suffrage organisation, in 1907. In February 1908, she and her sister, Mary Gertrude Howey, were arrested alongside other WSPU members after hiding in a

pantechnicon van A pantechnicon van was originally a furniture removal van drawn by horses and used by the British company "The Pantechnicon" for delivering and collecting furniture which its customers wished to store. The name is a word largely of British Engl ...

that was driven into the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. After her release, she joined

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

and Mary Blathwayt to campaign at a by-election in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

in May 1908. Soon afterwards, she was imprisoned again for three months for protesting outside the home of then-Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

. She was sentenced to six weeks in jail. Her demonstrations became more daring, including hiding overnight in the organ at Colston Hall,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

before

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for exten ...

, MP was due to speak, assisted by

Vera Holme Vera Louise Holme, also known as Jack Holme (29 August 1881 – 1 January 1969), was a British actress and a suffragette. She was known as the Pankhursts' chauffeur. Early life Holme was born in Birkdale, Lancashire, England. Her parents were R ...

inside and Minnie Baldock. She went further on 5 September 1910, when Howey and two other suffragettes,

Vera Wentworth Vera Wentworth (born Jessie Alice Spink; 1890 – 1957) was a British suffragette, who notably door-stepped and then assaulted the Prime Minister on two occasions. She was incarcerated for the cause and was force fed, after which she wrote "Three ...

and

Jessie Kenney Jessica "Jessie" Kenney (1887 – 1985) was an English suffragette who was jailed for assaulting the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in a protest to gain suffrage for women in the UK. Details of a bombing campaign to support their cause were ...

, assaulted Prime Minister Asquith and

Herbert Gladstone Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, (7 January 1854 – 6 March 1930) was a British Liberal politician. The youngest son of William Ewart Gladstone, he was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South ...

while the men were playing golf, and pursued Asquith to his holiday home, left protest cards, saying 'Release

Patricia Woodlock Patricia Woodlock (born Mary Winifred Woodlock; 25 October 1873 – after 1930) was a British artist and suffragette who was imprisoned seven times, including serving the longest suffragette prison sentence in 1908 (solitary confinement for thr ...

' and other suffragette materials in his private garden. Howey's violent tactics were criticised by some other members of the WSPU who called for her removal from the union. The actions proved too much for Mary Blathwayt's family. Her mother,

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

, resigned from the WSPU and her father, Linley, wrote letters of protest to

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exil ...

, Howey and Wentworth. Pankhurst was told that Howey and Wentworth could not visit their house again. Wentworth sent them a long reply expressing regret at their reaction but noting that "if Mr. Asquith will not receive deputation they will pummel him again". In January 1910,

Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton (12 February 1869 – 2 May 1923), usually known as Constance Lytton, was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control. S ...

was imprisoned and forcibly fed at Walton Gaol. In response, Howey broke the gaol governor's windows so that she too would be jailed in support of Lytton. Lytton in turn called Howey the "most dear one of our members". In April 1910, she received national attention after leading "a WSPU demonstration through London dressed as

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

, in a full set of armour" on horseback a role also played by nineteen year old actress

Marjery Bryce Marjery Bryce (1891 - 1973) was a British suffragette and actor, rode dressed as Joan of Arc in WSPU parades in support of votes for women. Family Born Margaret Vincentia on 18 June 1891 in Marylebone, London, to politician father John Annan ...

. In July she was arrested again for demonstrating in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situ ...

. She was imprisoned for seven days, during which time she undertook a hunger strike and fasted for 144 hours. During 1910 Howey worked to introduce the suffrage movement to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

and

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

. Howey was jailed at least six times in her career as a suffragette. She often took hunger strikes in prison and endured forcible feeding; on one such occasion it took her four months to recover from the resultant throat injuries. Her last arrest was in December 1912 after setting off a fire alarm. She was sentenced to four months' imprisonment but was released early after a prolonged hunger strike that resulted in the breakage of almost all of her teeth from forcible feeding. Howey was awarded a

Hunger Strike Medal The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909 and 1914 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 ...

'for Valour' by the WSPU.

Later life

Howey retired from public life when the militant suffrage movement ended in 1914. She lived in Malvern for the rest of her life and died there in 1963 from chronic

pyloric stenosis Pyloric stenosis is a narrowing of the opening from the stomach to the first part of the small intestine (the pylorus). Symptoms include projectile vomiting without the presence of bile. This most often occurs after the baby is fed. The typical a ...

. The condition is very rare in adults. It was probably caused by her multiple episodes of forcible feeding.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howey, Elsie 1884 births 1963 deaths English suffragists People from Nottinghamshire (before 1974) People from Malvern, Worcestershire Alumni of the University of St Andrews English prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Eagle House suffragettes Women's Social and Political Union Hunger Strike Medal recipients