AN AUTHOR has pledged his support for a campaign to erect a statue for a "forgotten" suffragette.
Peter James recently donated £1,000 to the campaign to get a statue erected for suffragette Mary Clarke.
There is currently no public memorial to Mary Clarke, who was sister of well-known suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
Peter, the author of 19 Sunday Times number ones with his Sussex-based crime series, described Mary Clarke as an “extraordinary” woman.
He has become a patron for the statue campaign, which is trying to raise £35,000 by the end of next year.
Peter said: “Mary Clarke was an extraordinary woman who fought tirelessly to support votes for women. She was a determined campaigner who never gave up and sadly became the first woman to die for such an important cause.
“This statue is such a significant recognition for all she set in motion, both for Brighton and for women’s rights throughout the world, and I am delighted to be supporting it .”
Mary led the suffragette movement in Brighton and the South East from 1909 to 1910.
She escaped an abusive marriage and thereafter was committed to the suffrage cause, speaking to large audiences at meetings in the Dome and Hove Town Hall and regularly addressing crowds on the seafront.
Mary was injured at the notorious Black Friday events on November 18, 1910, when 300 women were systematically beaten and sexually assaulted outside Parliament.
She was imprisoned for a month, went on hunger strike and was forcibly fed.
Mary died on Christmas Day of a brain haemorrhage, with a memorial service held at the Royal Pavilion.
Jean Calder, chair of the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal, said: “We are so grateful to Peter James for his support and his generosity.
"We are hoping this will encourage others to give.”
The campaign is seeking individual and corporate sponsors. Donations to the appeal can be made via its website.
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