Gertrude Golda Lowy
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Gertrude Golda Lowy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 November 1887 Hampstead, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 25 January 1982 (aged 94) Blacknell, London, England |
| Organisation(s) | Women's Social and Political Union, Jewish League for Woman Suffrage |
| Spouse | Redcliffe Salaman (m. 1926, died 1955) |
| Relatives | Albert Löwy (paternal grandfather), Ruth Gollancz (sister), Solomon Joseph Solomon (maternal uncle), Lily Delissa Joseph (maternal aunt), Ruth Collet (stepdaughter), Raphael Salaman (stepson) |
| Awards | Hunger Strike Medal, Italian War Merit Cross |
Gertrude "Golda" Lowy (2 November 1887 – 25 January 1982) was an English suffragette. She was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. She was awarded the Hunger Strike Medal.
Lowy was born in Hampstead, Middlesex,[1] the eldest daughter of an influential Jewish family of North London.[2] Her parents were Ernest Daniel Lowy, son of Albert Löwy,[3] and Henrietta Lowy (née Solomon).[4] Her mother's siblings included the artists Solomon Joseph Solomon and Lily Delissa Joseph.
Activism
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Lowy, her mother and three sisters became active in the women's suffrage movement.[6] Lowy was a militant,[7] became a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1908 and joined the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage,[4] when it was founded in 1912.[8]
On 4 March 1912, Lowy participated in the "Great Militant Protest"[9] which had been organised by Emmeline Pankhurst.[10] She smashed the windows of Knightsbridge department stores.[11] She was arrested, sentenced to two months imprisonment with hard labour,[4] went on hunger strike whilst in prison and was force fed. She was awarded the Hunger Strike Medal,[10] which is now held in the collection of The Jewish Museum London.[6][12]
Lowy took photographs of fellow activists in the suffrage movement, such as Ada Wright.[13] She ran the Photography stall at the WSPU's Summer Fair in 1913[4] and exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society in 1915.[11]
