WHEN academics at Oxford’s Bodleian Library were curating a major exhibition on suffrage there was something missing.

Sappho to Suffrage: women who dared, marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which led to all men and some women over the age of 30 being able to vote for the first time.

Curators knew that between 80 and 90 members of the Oxford Women’s Suffrage Society travelled to London on June 13, 1908, to join a procession.

On the day they carried three banners but none survived.

Organisers of the exhibition decided to use a sketch and report in The Oxford Times to recreate one of the banners and it is now on display in the Bodleian’s Weston Library.

The banner features St Frideswide, patron saint of Oxford, ‘bearing the sword of justice but surrounded with the thorns of prejudice’.

Oxford University’s Women and the Humanities programme commissioned illustrator Rachel Hill to recreate the banner.

Prof Senai Paseta, curator of the exhibition, said: “Someone in the Oxford contingent provided a sketch about the design and colour, which was reproduced in the newspaper.

“We know that the banner represented St Frideswide, that she wore green, that the background was Oxford blue and that the words were embroidered in gold.

“She held a sword of justice but was surrounded by thorns of ignorance.

“The short article reveals much about suffrage activism in early 20th century Oxford.”

Prof Paseta said the article went on to describe a movement that consisted of ‘men and women, of students, dons and townspeople’, and some of them such as philosopher Bertrand Russell were very well known.

Prof Paseta added the story in The Oxford Times spoke of ‘a sense of belonging to a nationwide movement’.

The centenary of the Representation of the People Act has prompted a series of commemorative events.

In February a flash mob gathered next to Carfax Tower to celebrate the centenary.

The demo was part of the Oxford International Women’s Festival, which ran from February 24 until March 11.

There were talks and workshops throughout the city and the festival, now in its 29th year, saw talks and workshops throughout the city.

The centrepiece was a suffrage debate, complete with ‘hecklers’, in a reenactment at Oxford Town Hall.

Sappho to Suffrage runs at the Bodleian’s Weston Library until February 3, 2019, showcasing some of the library’s most precious treasures.

For further information about the exhibition, which is in the Weston Library’s Treasury, and other lectures and events about the suffrage movement, visit bodleian.ox.ac.uk

WHEN academics at Oxford’s Bodleian Library were curating a major exhibition on suffrage there was something missing.

Sappho to Suffrage: women who dared, marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which led to all men and some women over the age of 30 being able to vote for the first time.

Curators knew that between 80 and 90 members of the Oxford Women’s Suffrage Society travelled to London on June 13, 1908, to join a procession.

On the day they carried three banners but none survived.

Organisers of the exhibition decided to use a sketch and report in The Oxford Times to recreate one of the banners and it is now on display in the Bodleian’s Weston Library.

The banner features St Frideswide, patron saint of Oxford, ‘bearing the sword of justice but surrounded with the thorns of prejudice’.

Oxford University’s Women and the Humanities programme commissioned illustrator Rachel Hill to recreate the banner.

Prof Senai Paseta, curator of the exhibition, said: “Someone in the Oxford contingent provided a sketch about the design and colour, which was reproduced in the newspaper.

“We know that the banner represented St Frideswide, that she wore green, that the background was Oxford blue and that the words were embroidered in gold.

“She held a sword of justice but was surrounded by thorns of ignorance.

“The short article reveals much about suffrage activism in early 20th century Oxford.”

Prof Paseta said the article went on to describe a movement that consisted of ‘men and women, of students, dons and townspeople’, and some of them such as philosopher Bertrand Russell were very well known.

Prof Paseta added the story in The Oxford Times spoke of ‘a sense of belonging to a nationwide movement’.

The centenary of the Representation of the People Act has prompted a series of commemorative events.

In February a flash mob gathered next to Carfax Tower to celebrate the centenary.

The demo was part of the Oxford International Women’s Festival, which ran from February 24 until March 11.

There were talks and workshops throughout the city and the festival, now in its 29th year, saw talks and workshops throughout the city.

The centrepiece was a suffrage debate, complete with ‘hecklers’, in a reenactment at Oxford Town Hall.

Sappho to Suffrage runs at the Bodleian’s Weston Library until February 3, 2019, showcasing some of the library’s most precious treasures.

For further information about the exhibition, which is in the Weston Library’s Treasury, and other lectures and events about the suffrage movement, visit bodleian.ox.ac.uk