Lights Out

As we remember 100 years since the UK entered WWI, I thought I would share with my readers the war memorial from King's Cross Station. The 11 stones, engraved with the names of the men from the Great Northern Railway who lost their lives in the conflict, were relocated during the recent refurbishment of the station. The new arrangement reflects Sargent's painting, Gassed, which depicts soldiers injured in a mustard gas attack. And it is beautifully poignant.

Gassed, John Singer Sargent (1919)

All over the country tonight, people and organisations will be marking the beginning of the UK's involvement in the Great War by switching out their lights, leaving a single light or candle glowing. The act is in reference to the British Foreign Secretary's statement in August 1914: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime". It is hoped that the collective gesture will encourage reflection on the lives lost and changed during the four years of the war.

Sister Suffragette

Image source

This Friday just past (14 June) marked the hundredth anniversary of the memorial service for Emily Wilding Davison, the Suffragette who died from injuries sustained when she was run down by the king's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913. She is also known for having hidden out in the Houses of Parliament on census night in 1911, so that she could be recorded as the sole occupant.

The census record for 1911, showing Emily Davidson [sic] occupying Westminster Hall
 (Image source)

In commemoration of the anniversary of her death, there has been a festival of arts and music running over the past few days at St George, Bloomsbury, which is where her funeral took place. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to any of the events - I had been particularly looking forward to the Suffragettes parade on Saturday morning but, alas, I couldn't get there in the end.

However, I at least made it to the church service this morning. And naturally, I took the chance to dress appropriately. The colours adopted by the Women's Social and Political Union were purple, green and white - purple for dignity, green for hope, and white for purity. (What purity has to do with why women should have suffrage is beyond me, and slightly riles me, I must confess. It suggests that women should be allowed to vote because they are 'good', which just perpetuates sexist ideas, if you ask me. But that's an aside and I'm just going to view it as an indicator of a different time and let it lie...)

Image source

So, for church today I adopted purple, green, and a touch of white, in recognition of our predecessors who secured women's right to vote in this country. I personally look more like a sweet little angel in this photo than a soldier in a petticoat but there you go...

And I will leave you with Mary Poppins and the first I ever heard of the Suffragettes.

Our daughters' daughters will adore us, 

and they'll sing in grateful chorus,

'Well done, sister Suffragette!'