Emily Davison and the Kings Horse

Emily Davison and the Kings Horse

(11th October 1872 - 8th June 1913)

Emily Wilding Davison was born in Blackheath in southeast London on 11 October 1872. She studied at Royal Holloway College and at Oxford University, although women were not allowed to take degrees at that time.

In 1906, she joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst. Three years later she gave up her job as a teacher and went to work full-time for the suffragette movement. She was frequently arrested for acts ranging from causing a public disturbance to burning post boxes and spent a number of short periods in jail.(Parliament, 2014).

On the eve on the 1911 census, Davison hid in a cupboard in the House of Commons. This forced the census to register the House of Commons as her home address. (Parliament, 2014).

1911 census showing Davison' s hiding place 

http://ancestry-emily-wilding-davison-hiding-on-census-night

The Epsom Derby

4th of June 1913 saw the tragic demise of Emily Davison as she stepped out in front of the King's Horse Amner at the Epsom Derby (BBC, 2014).

The resulting impact with the horse instantly knocked Davison down and as a result of this she died from her injuries 4 days later (BBC, 2014).

Images showing the impact between Davison and Amner in 1913

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/derby_of_june_1913.htm

The true intentions of Davison's actions will never be revealed as there are differing opinions surrounding her death. 

Some have the opinion that Davison planned the event and chose to be a martyr to the cause and take her own life

A more plausible theory is that Davison simply attempted to pin a suffragette flag onto the Horse but sadly miscalculated and tragically died as a result of her actions. Upon inspection of her possessions after the incident , Davison was found to be in possession of numerous items including a return railway ticket, writing paper, envelopes and stamps. (BBC, 2014) 

Why would a person wishing to commit suicide carry a return railway ticket with them if they had no intentions of returning home?

Davison sadly died 4 days after the incident in hospital from her injuries and a verdict of misadventure was recorded as her cause of death (BBC, 2014).