Erection date: 13/7/1959
{Incised on the stone support below:}
Dame Christabel Pankhurst, DBE, LLB, 1881 - 1958
{Carved into the end wall on the right:}
These walls and piers have been erected in memory of Dame Christabel Pankhurst who jointly with her mother Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst inspired and led the militant suffrage campaign.
{On the underneath of the shoulder:}
Hills
We double checked the "1881" - that is what is carved, it's not our mistype. She was born September 1880.
Site: Emmeline Pankhurst statue (3 memorials)
SW1, Abingdon Street, Victoria Tower Gardens
The statue of Emmeline was unveiled in 1930, further south in Victoria Tower Gardens, without the low flanking wall. Peace has a photo of it there. The statue was moved here in 1958 and then in 1959 it was enhanced with the addition of the flanking wall with the medallions at each end, jointly known as the Dame Christabel Pankhurst Memorial. The move probably followed Christabel's death in 1958 and was in preparation for the additions.
The WSPU badge medallion is to the left and Christabel's portrait medallion to the right.
The unveiling by Baldwin is shown in this British Pathe news film, found for us by Jamie Davis. The woman conducting the Metropolitan Police band is Ethel Smyth.
