Florence Elizabeth Mary MacAulay (1862–1945) was a British suffragist and part 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). In 1909, she wrote the lyrics to

The Women's Marseillaise "The Women's Marseillaise" was the former Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) official anthem. It was sung to the tune of La Marseillaise and included words about women's suffrage written by Florence MacAulay. The song was sung by suffragist ...

, which was a popular marching song for the WSPU.

Early life

MacAuley was born in Reading, England. Her father worked as a bookseller. MacAuley received higher education in

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

(at the time Somerville Hall) at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She dropped out of Oxford after two terms, owing to the death of her father. She returned to Oxford in 1886 but did not complete her degree. MacAuley worked as a teacher for 20 years, including six years at Great Yarmouth High School. She never married.

Suffragist movement

MacAuley joined the WSPU by 1907, engaging herself as an organiser and planning activities in multiple locations across England. This entailed living a nomadic lifestyle for a few years. She was the WSPU organiser for Canterbury and South Kent from 1910-1912. During this time she lived in "Trevarra", a boarding house used by WSPU organisers and escaped "mice". In 1913 MacAuley was arrested alongside

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 ...

in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacAulay, Florence Elizabeth Mary 1862 births 1945 deaths British suffragists Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford