It’s a Gude Cause (Part 2) | Glasgow Women's Library

“…there was a large crowd, and it was estimated that altogether there was in the meeting between 4000 and 5000. Prior to the start of the meeting selections were played by the women pipers who had taken part in the procession. To the left of the platform were grouped together the members who had represented historical personages in the women’s movement, and in their varied and picturesque attire they formed a pleasing and attractive picture…”

The Scotsman, 10^th October 1909

A week after the Gude Cause re-enactment march that we took part in last weekend, I had a look online for reports from that amazing day. A Scotsman article was one of the first to pop up; apart from the slightly old-fashioned language, I though it seemed fairly accurate. Large crowd? Check. Women pipe and drum bands? Check. Women in historical costume? Check. Police force hovering nearby? Check. Collections buckets? Check.

It was only when I read “Punctually at four o’clock, Mrs Pankhurst and the other members of the platform party took their places” instead of “Punctually at four o’clock, Fiona Hyslop MSP and the other members of the platform party took their places” did I notice the date of the article. (The substitution of speakers is perhaps a clue to why ‘Noisy dissent towards current parliament’ remained unchecked.)

So on the 10^th October of this year, the streets of Edinburgh were ablaze with purple, white, and green once again: so many beautiful banners held high; so many long skirts, rosettes, and feathered hats flapping in the breeze. Demonstrators were varied and united: Women’s Aid groups across Scotland, Engender, Protest in Harmony, WEA: Women @ Work, Women in Black, Socialist and Labour political parties, Women’s History groups, Women Artists Scotland, Women’s Engineering Society, Women HIV Solidarity, Environmental groups, Educational groups, Feminists, families – individuals from a spectrum of ages, ethnicities, attitudes and activism experience.

Many people had dressed for the event, most wearing outfits from the early 1900s, though we did see the odd sixties feminist and even one Rosie the Riveter! There was something quite surreal about seeing a parade of suffragettes walking past the weekend shoppers, which, judging by the looks on their faces, was a shared impression. We walked through the city and up to Calton Hill, former site of Calton Jail, where Ethel Moorhead and other dangerous women were imprisoned. (Interestingly, stories are told about witches dancing upon the hill in ancient times; and various historical and mythological rituals and festivals continue there to this day.) The march ended here, and the members of the platform party took their places…

After the speeches, Protest in Harmony sang for a Gude Cause. Their harmonies were beautiful, but unfortunately the top of a hill does not provide good acoustics. It made me realise one thing that seemed to be missing, and that was the lack of a roaring chorus – chants or songs. The suffragettes gave us so many catchy chants, like “What’s guid for John is guid for Janet”; “Cry all together, that’s the way to be served”; “The langest day has an end”; and “Daffin does naething”. The Gude Cause organisers with Protest in Harmony gave us the words and music to so many catchy songs, as mentioned in Part 1 of this blog. So why could we not raise our voices together, to blare through the streets? Whether it was the Edinburgh wind (a few megaphones would have gone a long way), or a rather un-suffragette display of ladylike restraint, I wonder if we were a little too polite for a protest.

Even so, it is hard to describe how exhilarated I felt that day…almost as if the spirit of the suffragettes’ conviction possessed us as we marched through Edinburgh. Our collective body pulsed with a visceral energy, the political heart of Scotland throbbing as drum beats echoed our footsteps, tribal reminders that our foremothers had marched through these streets before us. (Although they weren’t diverted by tram-works!)

Thank you Gude Cause organisers, not only for making me feel part of history, but for making me feel part of a national sisterhood, and reminding me that we Have done and Can do and Will do!