RMS Titanic Book 1

Elsie Bowerman

December 18th, 1889 - October 18th, 1973

She is a Sagittarius

Elsie Edith Bowerman was a British lawyer, suffragette, political activist, and RMS Titanic Survivor. She was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. She was the daughter of William Bowerman and Edith Martha Barber. She was an only child and William died when she was 5 years old. She attended Wycombe Abbey as a boarder from the age of 11 in 1901, becoming the youngest student there. She later wrote the biography of Frances Dove, her headmistress during her time at Wycombe. After spending some time in Paris, Elsie continued her education at Girton College, Cambridge where she studied for the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos and received a class II in her final examinations in 1911.

Suffragette Activism: 
Whilst at Girton she became a committed suffragette, taking part in informal activism such as giving out Votes for Women to others and organising suffrage events for her peers. She had Emmeline Pankhurst stay for a night when she gave a talk in nearby Cambridge. Despite being an active member of the WSPU, there is no record of Elsie taking part in militancy at this time. Elsie campaigned on behalf of the WSPU at the general election in 1910. She addressed an open-air meeting to an audience of 1000 in Hastings, alongside Evelyn Wharry and Victor Duval.

Shortly after the 1910 general election, the suffragettes agreed to a truce from militancy in order to give The Conciliation Bill, a cross-party initiative to grant a limited form of women suffrage, the best chance of succeeding. This truce lasted till November of 1910, when the Government announced it would allocate no more time to the Bill. In response, suffragettes marched on Parliamentary Square and clashed with police in an event known as Black Friday. Edith, who was also a member of the WSPU, took part in this event. She later told Antonia Raeburn that a nearby policeman gave her a blow on the head. 'He caught me by the hair and flinging me aside said: 'Die then!' I found afterwards that so much force had been used that my hairpins were bent double in my hair and my sealskin coat was torn to ribbons.' In 1914, Elsie was appointed the Eastbourne district organiser for the WSPU.

Onboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Edith and Elsie boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton on April 10th, 1912 as first class passengers for a trip to America and Canada to see her father's relations in North America. They occupied cabin E-33. They were rescued in lifeboat 6. The suffragette periodical, Votes for Women, celebrated their survival, stating that they were 'very enthusiastic workers in the cause.' After reaching America, they reached America and carried on with their plans to visit British Columbia, Klondyke and Alaska.

After The Sinking:
During World War 1 in September of 1916, Elsie became an orderly in a Scottish women's hopsital unit which served Serbian and Russian armies in Romania. Arriving just as the allies were defeated, her unit joined the retreat northwards to the Russian frontier. In March of 1917, Elsie was in St. Petersburg and witnessed the Russian Revolution at the first hand; she kept a diary in which she recorded the momentous events. Elsie returned to England in 1917 and continued her suffragist work. She travelled nationwide with the Pankhursts as an organizer of mass meetings at which suffrage leaders gave patriotic speeches to encourage men to join the Forces and women to volunteer for war work.

After the armistice in 1918, Elsie became secretary of the Women's Guild of Empire. But her principal interest was now the law, in which she gained an MA, and was admitted to the Bar in 1924. She practiced until 1938 on the South Eastern Circuit. As World War 2 approached, Elsie gave up her legal practice to join the Women's Voluntary Services for which she worked for 2 years. After a short period at the Ministry of Information, she began work with the Overseas Services of the BBC, remaining there for over 3 years. In 1947, she returned to the United States to help set up the United Nations Commissions on the Status of Women. During the 1950's, Elsie returned to live in St. Leonards-on-Sea to be near her elderly mother. When Edith died, Elsie at the age of 64, retired to a country house near Hailsham.

Elsie suffered a stroke and died at the age of 83 on October 18th, 1972. She was buried in the family grave with her parents in Hastings cemetery. She left an estate worth £143,000.

Sources:
Wikipedia
www.encyclopedia-Titanica.org

What an incredible woman. Rest In Peace Elsie Bowerman.