Autograph letter signed by Suffragette Mary Boyd Dodgson in Holloway Prison 1912
DODGSON, Mary Boyd. Autograph letter signed from a WSPU suffragette to Mrs Simpson, written from Holloway Prison.
HM Prison Holloway, London (March 7, 1912).
4to, 190 x 240 mm, single sheet written on both sides, with original Holloway Prison slip affixed to upper margin giving prisoner number (15766), name, and date (“March 7 1912”). Old horizontal and vertical folds, a few small marks and light wear; prison slip with minor edge wear and adhesion marks; overall in very good condition.
A substantial and highly informative suffragette prison letter written during the aftermath of the Women’s Social and Political Union’s coordinated window-smashing campaign of early March 1912. Dodgson writes from Holloway on remand, describing her participation in militant action: “we smashed one window but are charged with two”, following attempts to break through the police cordon in Parliament Square and subsequent arrest at Bow Street police station. She records the expected sentence of 2 months hard labour, and gives a detailed account of arrest, imprisonment, and conditions within Holloway, including exercise, chapel attendance, food, and restrictions on correspondence.
The letter is notable for its explicit justification of militant tactics. Dodgson rejects official characterisations of the suffrage movement as an artificial movement, asserting instead that such actions demonstrate the strength of feeling behind the cause. She reflects on hostile press coverage and public reaction, arguing that the campaign has forced broader attention and engagement. The tone throughout is composed and resolute.
She also refers to fellow suffragettes, including Mrs Brackenbury, almost certainly Hilda Brackenbury, noted for her role in supporting imprisoned activists and latterly for running 'Mouse Castle', a makeshift home for convalescing hunger strike suffragettes.
Mary Boyd Dodgson is recorded among suffragette prisoners sentenced to hard labour, and her husband, Walter Dodgson, is known to have written to the Home Secretary the following month concerning her treatment, now preserved in The National Archives.
A rare survival, preserved with its original Holloway Prison identification slip.