Emily Davison Doc with Clare Balding

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Did anyone here watch it? I just got around to watching it this afternoon and found it interesting and upsetting.

I was aware of most of the information about force feeding etc but I did not know the story behind Emily Davison's death.

The findings at the end of the documentary were that Emily was trying to tie a 'Vote's for Women scarf' around the King's Horse and that she did not intend to die.
I think this is the case also. However, I do think that she fully expected to die in doing so.

What do you think about the theory? Or do you think it was suicide? Or a horrible piece of raising awareness gone tragically wrong?

Also as a sad PS,the jockey was haunted by it all his life and committed suicide many years later.

I love Claire Balding, she clearly loves her work, and found it fascinating,as we all did.

Amazing the lengths the Suffragetes went to, to get the vote, which makes me all the more determined never to waste mine.

Optimist it seems there were trolls back then but they just did it by post.

It really made me shiver when they described the force feeding and showed that picture.
The sheer courage and determination of those women to face that time and time and again.
And to know that by participating in such bold acts of direct action they had changed the path their lives would lead forever.

The thing I find makes me quite sad is that I really didn't learn anything at all about the Suffragettes at school.

The force feeding was barbaric.

It's quite incredible how totally threatened the government was.It really did shake them to their core.
I loved the passion the woman spoke with when she was describing the police brutality the women faced,and how it was so hushed up.
It still counts,all these years later to find out the truth,because I think we owe it to those women.It really does matter.

YY V Small Squeak. It should be on the school curriculum.

We did a small amount in secondary school History - very small. I remember for my drama A-level sit down exam we had to write an emotive scene. I wrote about a Suffragette in prison, enduring the force feeding.

Incidently I got 92% in that exam. I think my examiner liked it.

They were the boldest and bravest of women.

I do agree it should be on the curriculum and I do find it rather sad that the suffregettes and what they went through is, in my mind, not taken particularly seriously and remembered in history in a broad sense.

Ive made every effort to teach dd about the movement and how important they were, and how we should feel so proud of these woman and find it sad that if I hadnt she would probably not know.

yy dd has covered it in A Levels, along with feminisim (in Politics) but it would be good to see it covered in Secondary School.

Incidentally, I notice there is a new sitcom due to start on Thursday on BBC3 or 4 about suffragettes, Ill be really disappointed if its a cheap laugh` about it, sadly I think it will be

Oh Dreams really? Will look into it.

This doc made me realise what a sketchy view I had of the Suffragette movement. I had no idea of the level of support - 700,000 at a rally in hyde Park?

What came across was how well-planned this act by Davison was in the sense that the spot she chose to make the protest would be filmed from 2 different angles for maximum exposure. It's clear from the footage that she specifically picked out the King's horse and didn't 'throw herself' in front of it. If nothing else the myth of the hysterical, impetuous woman committing a pointless act was laid to rest. Her funeral was very moving and again, a major event attended by many - I'd never heard that part of the story before.

The sitcom is written by Jessica Hynes. she talks a bit about it here

I'm reserving judgement...

Well I like Jessica Hynes and that interview shows her interest in the Suffragettes, but I cant help but wonder if itll be cheaplaughs at ratherpathetic` woman who dont have a clue.

But, like you, I will reserve judgement................. (and hope I am proved wrong, love comedy but.....)

Whoops, coming back (mind working overtime here) It would be really good if the laughs was aimed at the mens expense getting worked up into a frenzy about Woman getting the vote!

The thing is, Dreams, after watching Claire Blading's documentary, I just can't see that there's much to laugh about. But Hynes acknowledges that so it'll be interesting to see where she goes with it. I suppose one could say the same about WWI and Blackadder achieved some sort of balance there, so we will see.

Must Sky Plus it. I am not convinced at all. I cannot see where there can be any comedy.

Have just watched the documentary after seeing this thread- absolutely fascinating, particularly the extent to which the official response to the suffragist 'threat' was kept secret.

Agree with the other people who've said we should have learned more about this at school- I had a sketchy idea of the suffragette movement but didn't really know any detail. It was so important for British democracy! Found it all quite inspiring really. And well done Clare Balding too- already liked her a lot but even more so now.

I wish I could have shown it to DH for educational purposes, but he watched the football then took himself straight off to bed unfortunately.

Franke it's absolutely mind boggling to think of those numbers at a rally in Hyde Park.

I really had no idea of the numbers of women who were sympathetic to the cause - all probably treated with great suspicion by some of their family and acquaintances because of it.It's quite incredible how many were prepared to stand up and be counted.

Im just watching the Clare Balding documentary now. Cannot believe some things were kept locked away until 2003!
Makes you wonder what else is hidden away :(
Im trying to raise a bit of interest amongst my facebook, but so many people are saying 'it was 100 years ago, who cares'
Cant believe all women didnt get the vote until 1928.

My teenage dd learned about it at school. I watched the doc with her. She said they read different accounts of the event from different sources and had to evaluate them. She knew the facts, but still looked by the footage of Emily and the horse going down.

I cried at the funeral footage

I watched the doc with my three DDs aged 10, 13 and 16, two of whom knew quite a lot about the Suffragettes already. They both commented on the unintentionally hilarious juxtaposition of the material of the documentary with the ads in the ad breaks which predominantly showed women as either devoted mothers or objects of male attention and pointed out how far we still had to come after 100 years.

I watched this too, and found it really interesting. I don't know all that much about the suffrage movement, but I have always (and will always) vote as a way of saying "thank you" to those brave women. (Even when I feel that it is pointless!) I was particularly moved by the extract from Davison's diary (?) where she said she was doing what she was for women who weren't even born yet.

I agree with other posters that the whole 'hysterical woman throwing herself under a horse' thing doesn't seem to fit with the evidence presented in the programme.