PANKHURST, Emmeline - CUMMINGS, Michael (illus.).

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Original drawing commenting on the removal of Emmeline Pankhurst's statue. Original ink cartoon, unpublished. Pankhurst's statue, bearing a displeased facial expression, is carried by Nigel Birch, who in 1955 was the Minister of Works in the Conservative Government. Cummings's illustration alludes to the plan by the Ministry of Works to move Pankhurst's statue away from Parliament, which was foiled by a Suffragette Fellowship campaign. Pankhurst's statue was unveiled in 1930 in Victoria Tower Gardens in a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests. In 1955, the ministry proposed moving the statue to a location further south in Victoria Tower Gardens, claiming that it would there be seen more easily be members of the public. The Suffragette Fellowship objected to Pankhurst's statue being moved any further from Parliament. Birch was adamant at first, stating in June 1955 that "as women had won their battle so decisively they could afford to be generous in this matter" (The Times, June 1955). However, the Suffragette Fellowship kept up their campaign and were supported in the House of Commons by the sympathetic MP for Coatbridge, Jean Mann. Pankhurst's statue was eventually moved, but to a location closer to Parliament, and extra bronze medallions celebrating Christabel Pankhurst and the WSPU at large were added at the same time. Michael Cummings (1919-1997) worked for the Daily Express and for the "Essence of Parliament"' column in Punch. Provenance: from the collection of the suf

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