A PRESTIGIOUS medal awarded to a Suffragette who was jailed for throwing a missile at Winston Churchill s car as he attended an election rally in Bolton is to go under the hammer. Nellie Godfrey broke through strong timber barricades erected by police who were suspecting protests to lob an iron missile at Mr Churchill’s car in December 1909 during the campaign to give women the right to vote. At the time Churchill, the Member of Parliament for Dundee, was President of the Board of Trade, and was undertaking a campaign tour of Lancashire. Attached to the missile was a message ‘Thrown by a woman of England as a protest against the Government’s treatment of political prisoners.’
Women s Social and Political Union Medal awarded to Miss Nellie Godfrey to be offered at Dix Noonan Webb
Miss Nellie Godfrey was arrested and imprisoned for throwing a missile at Winston Churchills car as he attended an election rally in Bolton in December 1909.
LONDON
.- The Womens Social and Political Union Medal awarded to Miss Nellie Godfrey, who was arrested and imprisoned for throwing a missile at Winston Churchills car as he attended an election rally in Bolton in December 1909 will be offered by Dix Noonan Webb in their live / online auction of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 on their website www.dnw.co.uk. It is expected to fetch £6,000-8,000, and the proceeds are being donated to the Fawcett Society.
Nellie Godfrey was given a medal of valour by the Women s Social and Political Union after going on hunger strike in jail after refusing to pay a fine for throwing a piece of iron at Winston Churchill s car
A prestigious medal awarded to a suffragette who was locked up after throwing a missile at Winston Churchill s car has emerged for sale for £8,000.
Nellie Godfrey lobbed the iron projectile at Churchill s car after breaking through police barricades during an election rally in Bolton in 1909.
Churchill emerged unscathed but Nellie was arrested on the spot for her dramatic protest during the campaign to give women the right to vote.