This biography, written by Catriona McAra and Lesley McAra, has been republished with permission from the Dangerous Women Project, created by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
Born: 3 March 1887, United Kingdom
Died: 21 April 1961
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: CALM, Charlie
Deeds not words
Our great, [great] aunt was Charlotte Augusta Leopoldine Marsh (aka CALM or Charlie) (1887-1961). She was one of the first suffragettes to go on hunger strike, and later, during World War I, served as chauffeuse to David Lloyd George. She was one of the most effective, professional organisers of the Women’s Social and Political Union working at various moments in Yorkshire (1909), Oxford (1910), Portsmouth and Southampton (1911-12). Though as active in the movement, she was lesser known than her friends Emily Davison, Mary Leigh, and Flora Drummond, but no less important to the cause. She helped raise funds for Emmeline Pankhurst’s car, and would occasionally drive the Pankhurst family to rallies. Charlie was often chosen to lead rallies due to her height and striking features. During the funeral procession for Davison (who, as readers will know, died under the hooves of the King’s horse at the Derby), Charlie appeared in the guise of Joan of Arc, in a white and golden gown, in tribute to her friend.
Charlie was the daughter of the painter, Arthur Hardwick Marsh (1842-1909). She initially trained as a sanitary inspector because she had been shocked by the living conditions of the poorest women and children in Tyneside. This commitment to social reform characterised her whole life, becoming an activist in the women’s movement from 1908 and having a long history of public service after the first world war, including working for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Charlie’s ‘criminal career’ began in June 1908 when she was arrested for obstructing the police in Parliament Square and sent to Holloway Prison. In 1909 she was arrested for a second time after throwing slates at Prime Minister Asquith: using an axe to loosen them; and arrested and imprisoned again in 1912 for breaking windows. It was during these periods in custody she went on hunger strike and was forcibly fed.
Charlotte Marsh was perceived as a dangerous woman. Her story is striking when one considers the series of institutional spaces she moved through – thresholds of activism and transgression: the roof, the prison, even the driver’s seat! Importantly, Charlie lived her politics; she choose an occupation which would help others, and was prepared to stand up to oppression and take the consequences in campaigning for equality and justice.