Sarah and the Suffragettes.

I started watching the film Suffragette tonight and made an interesting discovery. I never understood why I find the actress Carey Mulligan so compelling, and now I do: she has the same eyes as the Lady B. Fancy not noticing that before.

I only watched twenty five minutes of it before I switched it off. One of the things I find most disturbing about the human animal is the ease with which it stoops to being abusive and irrational as soon as its petty prejudices are subjected to scrutiny. Seeing it being laid out before me wasn’t doing much for my mood. I might pick it up again another day, or I might not.

The fact is, you see, the suffragettes have always been high on my list of Heroes of History, and I can add a little personal note to the story. Back in my photography days I was commissioned by a magazine publisher to research, photograph and write up a country walk for one of their issues. It followed a route around the town of Morpeth, close to where I lived in Northumberland, and when I walked into the churchyard on the hill above the town I was surprised to come face to face with the grave of Emily Davison. She’s the woman who died after being struck by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913, as a result of which she became the most famous martyr to the cause. Her gravestone is inscribed with the motto of the movement – Deeds Not Words – and I found it surprisingly moving to be in the presence of her mortal remains.