Suffragette and martial arts instructor. Born Edith Margaret Williams in Bath. She married William Garrud, a physical culture instructor and in 1899 they were introduced to the art of jiu-jitsu. In 1913, the so-called 'Cat and Mouse Act' was passed, which allowed Suffragettes on hunger strike to be released from prison and then immediately re-arrested. As a response to this, an all-woman protection unit called the 'Bodyguard' was formed and she trained its members in jiu-jitsu and the use of Indian clubs as defensive weapons. Now that really is 'resisting arrest.'
She is credited as Madame Gerrud in the short film Ju-Jitsu of 1907 : "Women pursue pickpockets from Piccadilly to Hampstead and wrestle them." But sadly it seems to be lost.
Londonist has some more info as does London Historian.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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