‘Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere’

As the new term begins, we are proud to have Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett’s blue plaque join that of her husband Henry Fawcett outside no. 18 Brookside – where they both lived. Her plaque reads : Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, 1847-1929. Leading Suffragist. A co-founder of Newnham College. A lifelong campaigner for women’s education and equal citizenship. ‘Courage calls to courage everywhere.’

Dame Millicent was the leader of the peaceful campaign for women’s suffrage. She gave her first public speech in favour of votes for women in 1869 and presided over the campaign leading up to the foundation of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) in 1897, of which she was president from 1907 to 1919. It wasn’t until 1928, aged 81 that she saw women finally achieve equal voting rights with men.

What an inspiring legacy our pupils have on their front door!