Suffragette’s ‘Hunger Strike’ medal goes under the hammer

A gallantry medal awarded by the Suffragette movement to the niece of Field Marshal Lord Kitchener goes under the hammer today with a pre-sale estimate of £12-15,000.

Frances Parker, who was arrested in Dundee and spent time in Perth Prison, was a courageous leader of the campaign for women’s votes.

Her vigorous campaigning, which included trying to torch Robert Burns’ cottage, not only outraged her uncle, who was later to become Britain’s First World War military leader, but also resulted in her being abused in Scottish prisons.

Auctioneer at Dix Noonan Webb, London, David ErskineHill said: “The story of Frances Parker is one of the most remarkable in the history of the campaign to win women the vote.

“She came from a classic establishment background, her uncle, Lord Kitchener, epitomising military traditionalism, but rebelled against that and became an ardent suffragette. She was imprisoned five times, force-fed on three occasions and subjected to appalling abuse while she was in jail in Perth.

“The medal that she was awarded by her fellow campaigners must surely rank as one of the most important ever issued by the Women’s Social and Political Union.”

After her death in January 1924 aged just 49, Parker bequeathed the medal to friend and fellow suffragette Ethel Moorhead whose family are offering it for sale.

Picture: Paul Reid. The medal which belonged to Frances Parker, below, will be auctioned today.