Ellen Pitfield (''c.'' 1857 – August 1912) was a British

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

, nurse,

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 members ...

and member of 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 founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

(WSPU).

Life

Pitfield joined the suffragette movement in 1908 and became involved with militant action for women’s enfranchisement. This caused her to get arrested twice throughout that same year. Pitfield went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

whilst in prison. After being released from prison in 1909, she is reported to have said: "there are only two things that matter to me in the world: principle and liberty. For these I will fight as long as there is life in my veins. I am no longer an individual, I am an instrument." Pitfield 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, many went on hunger strike while serving the ...

'for Valour' by WSPU. On 18 November 1910, Pitfield was present at ' Black Friday' and sustained injuries, which never fully healed. In 1911, Pitfield participated in the suffragette

1911 census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...

boycott, whilst she was working and residing at the

New Hospital for Women The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...

in Euston Road,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Around this time, she discovered she had

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

cancer. In March 1912, Pitfield wrote to WSPU leader

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

stating that "I am with you heart and soul in the great demonstration on March the 4th 1912" and declaring herself "A Soldier to the death". She travelled into central London on 3rd March, then entered the King Edward Street Post office and set fire to a basket of wood shavings soaked in paraffin. She also threw a brick, wrapped in copies of the ''

Votes For Women Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

'' newspaper, through a window of the building and immediately gave herself up to a nearby police constable to raise publicity for the cause. She was arrested, sentenced to six months of imprisonment and was carried from court to the prison hospital. Despite her illness, Pitfield refused to sign a statement against committing further militant action to secure an early release.

Death

According to

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

, Pitfield was released in May, after the Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement started a petition on her behalf. She was cared for at Pembroke Garden nursing home by nurses

Catherine Pine Catherine Emily Pine (7 May 1864 – 14 August 1941) was active in the women's suffrage movement in Britain. She nursed the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and her son Henry. Pine travelled with Pankhurst before returning to Britain permanently ...

and Gertrude Townend, and died three months later, in August 1912. ''

The British Journal of Nursing ''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...

'' reported her imprisonment and later death, calling her "a faithful and devoted servant of suffering humanity".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitfield, Ellen 1912 deaths 19th-century English people 20th-century English people British feminists British women's rights activists English women in politics Feminism and history Women of the Victorian era Women's Social and Political Union