1912 SUFFRAGETTE HUNGER STRIKE MEDAL

Clara Giveen is remembered for her part in the attack on Hurt Park grandstand in 1913 when she and the actress and suffragette, Kitty Marion, set fire to the racecourse in Surrey.

They were arrested the following morning and Giveen was sentenced to three years in prison and forcibly fed.

She was later released under the Cat and Mouse Act, and was given the Hunger Strike Suffragette Medal by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).

It was sold at Halls' October auction in Shrewsbury and caused a stir among bidders online and in the sale room.

Specialist valuer Derek Ainsworth said: "The interest in suffragette medals has been strong recently and we are delighted to have realised such a high price for this example.

The medal awarded to Giveen was engraved ‘Hunger Strike’ on the one side and had her name on the other.

The title ‘For Valour’ was engraved on a scrolled enamelled bar above two further enamelled bars carrying the dates July 3, 1913 and November 24, 1913.

However, most significant was the engraving on the reverse of the medal which read, ‘fed by force 1/3/12’.

To read the complete article, see:
Rare suffragette medal sells at Shrewsbury auction (https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2018/10/27/rare-suffragette-medal-sells-at-shrewsbury-auction/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
A SUFFRAGETTE SOCIETY MEDAL (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n10a27.html)

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