Orcadian Women's Suffrage Society
1908-1918_(23070340306).jpg)
The Orcadian Women's Suffrage Association was an organisation involved in campaigning for women’s suffrage, based in Orkney, Scotland.
Formation
[edit]The first meeting of the society was held in the house of James and Bina Cursiter on September 25, 1909.[1] It was formed a month after a visit to Orkney by Chrystal Macmillan,[2] by the chair Mary Anne Baikie of Tankerness, who led the group to expand rapidly[3] and to bring together men and women, to debate the political developments and to host leaders from national groups.[4]
Activities
[edit]The organisation was affiliated to the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. As such, their activities mirrored those of many other suffragist groups. They conveyed their message by addressing public meetings, distributing leaflets, and writing to the local press to promote the cause of women's suffrage.[4]
In 1911, a banner, created by Stanley Cursiter and Christina Jamieson, of the Shetland Women's Suffrage Society, was taken to London for the Suffrage Coronation Procession.[4]
Links to Scottish Women's Hospitals
[edit]In 1912, Dr Elsie Inglis spoke at a meeting of the OWSS in her capacity as Honorary Secretary of the Scottish Federation of Women's Suffrage Societies.[5] After the outbreak of WWI and the foundation of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service in 1914, the women of the OWSS raised a sum of £30 8s 6d which entitled them to name a bed for 6 months. The society chose to call the bed "Orcadian".[6] Further donations followed and letters were received from soldiers who spent time in the bed.[citation needed]
Notable members
[edit]- Dr Mary McNeill
- Bina Cursiter
- James Cursiter, uncle of Stanley Cursiter
Further reading
[edit]- King, Elspeth (1978) The Scottish Women’s Suffrage Movement. Glasgow. People’s Palace Museum
- Leneman, Leah (1995) A Guid Cause: The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Scotland. Edinburgh. Mercat Press.
- Leneman, Leah (2000) The Scottish Suffragettes. Edinburgh. National Museums of Scotland. 190166340x
- Pedersen, Sarah (2017) The Scottish Suffragettes and the Press. London. Palgrave MacMillan. 9781137538338
See also
[edit]In 2019, a short film about the society won an award at the Scottish Short Film Festival.[7]
- Feminism in the United Kingdom
- List of suffragists and suffragettes
- List of women's rights activists
- List of women's rights organizations
- Timeline of women's suffrage
- Women's suffrage organizations
References
[edit]- ^ "A Suffrage Search". Orkney Archive - Get Dusty. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- ^ Leneman, Leah. (1995). A guid cause : the women's suffrage movement in Scotland (New rev. ed.). Edinburgh: Mercat Press. ISBN 1-873644-48-5. OCLC 34146764.
- ^ "Women's Suffrage Movement - Mrs Baikie of Tankerness on women's rights - Formation of Orkney Society". The Orcadian. 30 October 1909. p. 1.
- ^ a b c Crawford, Elizabeth (2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. p. 474. ISBN 9781135434021.
- ^ "Orcadian Women's Suffrage Society - Address by Mrs Baikie of Tankerness - Annual Report by the Secretary - A Successful Social". The Orcadian. 16 November 1912. p. 3.
- ^ "Local Intelligence - Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service". The Orkney Herald. 9 December 1914.
- ^ Drysdale, Neil. "Animated film about suffragette movement in Orkney wins Scottish award". Press and Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2020.