TWO WOMEN SUFFRAGISTS succeeded yesterday morning in taking possession of The Monument near London Bridge, and holding it for a time against all comers. About half past 10 they entered as visitors, in the ordinary way, nothing in their appearance exiting the suspicions of the attendants, who have been for some time in e expectation of a visit from the militant suffragists. When they reached the top the women contrived to divert the attention of the attendance, and slamming the door they made it fast from behind by an ingeniously contrived iron bar.

HAVING THUS SECURED themselves against immediate interruption the women proceeded to haul down the City flag, and attaching the suffragist colours to it, they hoisted it again. Round the top of the Monument, they hung strips of black cloth with the words "Death or Victory."

BY THIS TIME the attention of the passers by had been attracted and a large, and in the main good humoured, crowd assembled to watch - as far as that was possible - the efforts of the police who had been summoned to dislodge the women and restore the monument to its normal undecorated condition. The officers who mounted the hundreds of steps had considerable difficulty in opening the door, which did not yield until a lustily wielded sledge hammer had been brought to bear upon it. Then the suffragist colours and the defiant motto disappeared, but there still remained the formidable task of getting the resourceful women through the crowd which had grown enormously and included fish porters from Billingsgate and City men with no pressing business on hand.

THE FIRST ATTEMPT to bring the women provoked a rush on the part of a section of the crowd, and it was thought advisable to take the suffragists back into the Monument for their protection. Additional police were sent for and when they arrived about noon the women were escorted to the Monument Station of the District Railway*, the gates of which were closed while they made good their escape.

AN OFFICIAL of the Women's Social and Political Union stated later that the escapade was not arranged by The Union, but was solely the work of the two women concerned. She was pleased however that it had been successfully accomplished but would not say that it indicated a new plan of campaign as the union's intentions must be kept as secret as possible.

IT IS STATED that some time ago a more elaborate scheme was arranged by which it was hoped to obtain possession of the upper part of the Monument and to distribute handbills from it while a balloon was liberated. This, however, entirely miscarried.

 

Well organised as usual, one of the women took along her camera ! This is the view of the crowd. Her name is not recorded since no charges were brought and it was not an "Official" WSPU zap !

The View of the crowd from the Monument 19.4.13

*Now London Underground

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From Old Dyke 12, 2001

 

 

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