In 1913, the Liberal government led by Herbert Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC, FRS [1852-1928] from 1908 to 1916, introduced the so-called ‘Cat and Mouse Act’, during which Suffragette leaders on hunger strikes could be released from prison, allegedly in order to recover their health, and subsequently re-arrested on the original charge. The WSPU responded by establishing an all-woman protection unit referred to as the ‘Bodyguard’, to safeguard fugitive suffragettes from re-arrest.
Edith Garrud became the first person to train members of the Bodyguard in the art of jiu-jitsu, and the use of Indian clubs as defensive weapons, at secret locations to avoid police attention. The Bodyguard fought a number of hand-to-hand battles with police officers which were attempting to arrest their leaders, most famously during the so-called ‘Battle of Glasgow’ in March 1914 and two months later during the WSPU ‘Raid on Buckingham Palace’.
On several occasions they were able to stage successful escapes and rescues, by making tactical use of disguise and the use of decoys to confuse the police. A number of such incidents were exposed in an unpublished account written by Bodyguard member Katherine ‘Kitty’ Marshall, née Willoughby, [1870-1947] called ‘Suffragette Escapes and Adventures’.
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