Mary Richardson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1882/3 |
| Died | (1961-11-07)7 November 1961 Hastings, East Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Independent wealth |
| Known for | Slashing theRokeby Venus |
Mary Raleigh Richardson (1882/3 – 7 November 1961) was a Canadiansuffragette active in thewomen's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom, anarsonist, a socialist parliamentary candidate and later head of the women's section of theBritish Union of Fascists (BUF) led bySir Oswald Mosley.
She grew up inBelleville, Ontario, Canada.In 1898, she travelled to Paris and Italy. She lived inBloomsbury, London, England, and witnessedBlack Friday in London in 1910.[1]
Richardson published a novel,Matilda and Marcus (1915), and three volumes of poetry,Symbol Songs (1916),Wilderness Love Songs (1917), andCornish Headlands (1920).[1]
At the beginning of the 20th century,[timeframe?] the Britishsuffragette movement, frustrated by a failure to achieve equal voting rights for women, began adopting increasingly militant tactics. In particular, theWomen's Social and Political Union (WSPU), led byEmmeline Pankhurst, frequently endorsed the use of property destruction to bring attention to the issue of women's suffrage. Richardson was a devoted supporter of Pankhurst and a member of the WSPU. Richardson joinedHelen Craggs at the Women's Press shop and told her of the abuse from men (obscene remarks) and customers tearing up materials.[2]
Richardson claimed to be at the Epsom races on Derby Day, 4 June 1913, whenEmily Davison jumped in front of the King's horse. Emily Davison died inEpsom Cottage Hospital; Mary Richardson was reportedly chased and beaten by an angry mob but was given refuge in Epsom Downs station by a railway porter.[3][4]
She committed a number of acts of arson, smashed windows at theHome Office andbombed a railway station. She was arrested nine times, receiving prison terms totalling more than three years.[5][4]
She was one of the first two womenforce-fed forhunger-striking, then released to recover and be re-arrested under the 1913Cat and Mouse Act, Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913, serving her sentences inHM Prison Holloway.[1] Richardson was given theHunger Strike Medal 'for Valour' by WSPU, and was proud of being awarded morebars for strikes than anyone else.[6]
After one of her hunger strikes Richardson recovered at the cottage ofLillian Dove-Willcox in the Wye valley. She was devoted to Dove-Willcox and wrote the poemThe Translation of the Love I Bear Lillian Dove.[7]
On 10 March 1914 Richardson entered theNational Gallery in London to attack a painting byVelázquez, theRokeby Venus, using a chopper she smuggled into the gallery.[9] She wrote a brief statement explaining her actions to the WSPU which was published by the press:[10]
"I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying MrsPankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history. Justice is an element of beauty as much as colour and outline on canvas. Mrs Pankhurst seeks to procure justice for womanhood, and for this she is being slowly murdered by a Government of Iscariot politicians. If there is an outcry against my deed, let every one remember that such an outcry is an hypocrisy so long as they allow the destruction of Mrs Pankhurst and other beautiful living women, and that until the public cease to countenance human destruction the stones cast against me for the destruction of this picture are each an evidence against them of artistic as well as moral and political humbug and hypocrisy."
— "Miss Richardson's Statement".The Times. London. 11 March 1914.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unionist | Harry Brittain | 10,208 | 49.9 | −23.4 | |
| Labour | Mary Richardson | 5,342 | 26.2 | −0.5 | |
| Liberal | Neville Dixey | 4,877 | 23.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,866 | 23.7 | −22.9 | ||
| Turnout | 20,427 | 67.1 | +13.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 30,425 | ||||
| Unionisthold | Swing | −11.5 | |||
In 1932, after forming the belief that fascism was the "only path to a 'Greater Britain,'" Richardson joined theBritish Union of Fascists (BUF), led by SirOswald Mosley. She claimed that "I was first attracted to the Blackshirts because I saw in them the courage, the action, the loyalty, the gift of service and the ability to serve which I had known in the suffragette movement".[12] Richardson rose quickly through the BUF ranks and by 1934 was Chief Organiser for the Women's Section of the party. She left within two years after becoming disillusioned with the sincerity of its policy on women.[13]
Two other prominent suffragette leaders to attain high office in the BUF wereNorah Elam[14] and CommandantMary Sophia Allen.[15]
In 1930, she adopted a young baby boy, named Roger Robert, to whom she gave her surname.
Richardson published her autobiography,Laugh a Defiance, in 1953. She died at her flat inHastings on 7 November 1961.[1]
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