Orders, Decorations and Medals

Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour, obverse inscribed, ‘Hunger Strike’, the reverse, ‘Marie du Sautoy Newby’, silver, 22mm., hallmarks for Birmingham 1911, the suspension bar inscribed, ‘March 4th 1912’ and brooch bar, ‘For Valour’, original ribbon in the Suffragette colours, in case of issue, silk interior lining of lid originally with gold blocked inscription, ‘Presented to Marie du Sautoy Newby by the Women’s Social & Political Union in recognition of a gallant action, whereby through endurance to the last extremity of hunger and hardship a great principle of political justice was vindicated’, the lining now very distressed and worn but name still legible, the medal extremely fine
£3000-3500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The collection of Medals formed by the Late Clive Nowell.

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Mrs Kathleen Marie Anstice du Sautoy Newby, wife of Charles Henry Newby, FRCS, LRCP, lived at Ilfracombe, Devon, where she was Hon. Secretary of the Ilfracombe Branch of the WSPU. She was a member of the WSPU Delegation to the House of Commons in November 1911. On 9 March 1912 she was sentenced at Bow Street Magistrates Court to two months imprisonment with hard labour for breaking Home Office windows.

Mrs Newby’s offence was part of a co-ordinated action by one hundred or more suffragettes in London on 4 March 1912 when, promptly at 11.00 am, they proceeded to smash the windows of departmental stores and public buildings in Kensington and the West End. They were led by Mrs Pankhurst, whose target was No. 10 Downing Street. Most of those charged with window smashing received sentences of between seven days and two months, except in a few cases where the damage was over £5 in which case a longer period of imprisonment was imposed.