Gertrude "Golda" Lowy (2 November 1887 – 25 January 1982) was an English suffragette.
Gertrude Golda Lowy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 November 1887 Hampstead, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 25 January 1982 (aged 94) Blacknell, London, England |
| Organization(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 |
Family
editLowy 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
edit.jpg)
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]
World War I
editDuring World War I, she enlisted with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) in 1917 and served as a radiographic assistant in Italy until 1919.[2] She was awarded the Italian War Merit Cross for her service.[2]
Later life and death
editShe married Redcliffe Nathan Salaman, botanist and expert on breeding blight-resistant potatoes, in 1926.[7][14] His first wife Pauline "Nina" Ruth Davis had died in 1925.[15] Salaman had been active in supporting the women's suffrage movement, for example the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) newspaper Common Cause reported in 1909 that he spoke in favour of votes for women at a meeting in Hertfordshire.[15]
She was painted by her uncle Solomon Joseph Solomon, and the portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and Ben Uri Gallery and Museum.[14][16]
She died in 1982, aged 94.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Miss Gertrude Golda Lowy". Database - Women's Suffrage Resources. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b c "Gertrude Lowy (later Salaman)". Lives of the First World War, Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael A.; Rubinstein, Hillary L., eds. (2011). "Löwy, Albert". The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 620–621. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
- ^ a b c d Crawford, Elizabeth (2 September 2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. Routledge. p. 359. ISBN 978-1-135-43401-4.
- ^ Suffrage Campaigning: Jewish League for Women's Suffrage 1912-1918, Women's Library, London School of Economics and Political Science, 17 November 2015, retrieved 19 February 2025
- ^ a b Crawford, Elizabeth (21 May 2015). "Suffrage Stories: Two New Exhibitions". Woman and her Sphere. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b Endelman, Todd M. (6 September 2022). The Last Anglo-Jewish Gentleman: The Life and Times of Redcliffe Nathan Salaman. Indiana University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-253-06176-8.
- ^ "Jewish League for Woman Suffrage". Jewish Women's Archive. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Godfrey, Jennifer (4 July 2024). Secret Missions of the Suffragettes: Glassbreakers and Safe Houses. Pen and Sword History. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1-3990-1397-0.
- ^ a b Lazarsfeld-Jensen, Ann (1 July 2024). Two Against the Tide: The shared career and lost legacy of Brenda and Charles Seligman. Berghahn Books. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-80539-578-2.
- ^ a b "Suffragette". Lives of the First World War, Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Blackguards in Bonnets". Jewish Museum London. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Ada Cecile G. Wright - Lowy, Gertrude". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b "(#23) SOLOMON JOSEPH SOLOMON R.A., P.R.B.A. | Portrait of Gertrude Salaman, the Artist's Niece". Sothebys.com. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b Wilkins, Diana; Morton, Tara. "Redcliffe Salaman". Mapping Women's Suffrage, University of Warwick. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Jewish Artists: The Ben Uri Collection : Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture : a Catalogue of Works by Jewish Artists and of Jewish Interest in the Possession of the Ben Uri Art Society, London. Ben Uri Art Society. 1994. ISBN 978-0-85331-655-8.