Edith Charlotte Bury Palliser (22 December 1859 – 25 November 1927), was a campaigner for women’s suffrage and rights in Great Britain and Ireland.
Early life and education
Born 22 December 1859 Edith Charlotte Bury Palliser was the youngest child and only daughter to Frederick Hugh Palliser and Emily Price.
Her father was from an Anglo-Irish family and was an explorer and big-game hunter, however they lost much of the family fortune during the
Irish Famine
The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger ( ), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact ...
and the collapse of the family plantation in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In 1865 Palliser was living with her family in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
but her parents separated and she returned to live in
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
with her mother. They lived in
Comeragh House, Waterford.
By 1895 Palliser had moved to London where she got a position as secretary with the Central Committee of the
National Society for Women’s Suffrage. Palliser was chair of the London Society for Women’s Suffrage and secretary of the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...
as well as an executive member from 1911 to 1913. She remained with the campaign for suffrage until she retired in 1919. Palliser was the editor of
the Women’s Suffrage Record, a quarterly newspaper which she privately funded. Her subeditor was Frances Sterling. She also was co-editor of a children's text about evolution called 'The Way the World Went Then' with
Helen Blackburn
Helen Blackburn (25 May 1842 – 11 January 1903) was a feminist, writer and campaigner for women's rights, especially in the field of employment. Blackburn was an editor of the '' Englishwoman's Review'' magazine. She wrote books about women wo ...
. She was a contributor to, and board member of
The Englishwoman a feminist paper related to the National Society for Women’s Suffrage. Palliser advised on the creation of the
International Woman Suffrage Alliance
The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...
and represented
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the first meeting in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and again in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, in 1904 and 1908. In 1915 she became chair of the London Committee of the
Scottish Women's Hospitals
The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Kensington
Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
and lived with Dr Mabel Paine for some time. She died 25 November 1927 in her cousin Frances Sterling's home in Sussex.[
]
Legacy
Her work during the war was commemorated by a bed in the maternity unit of the Royal Free Hospital.[
]
Bibliography
* Women's suffrage record
* The way the world went then (1898)
* Leading facts of the movement for the parliamentary enfranchisement of women (1900)
* A letter (1906)
* Preliminary notice (1906)
* In support of Sir Charles McLaren's women's suffrage resolution (1907)
*
* Extract from a letter issued by the Executive Committee (1911)
* Government Reform Bill and National Union policy (1912)
* Whitechapel election appeal (1913)
* Martial heroines : Agostina Zaragoza (1916)
References and sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palliser, Edith
1859 births
1927 deaths
People from County Waterford
Irish suffragists