Mary Clarke was first suffragette to die for the cause. But her life has been forgotten

A funding crisis has hit a campaign to commemorate the first suffragette to die for women's rights - because her extraordinary life has been almost entirely forgotten.

- Amelia Hill

Mary Clarke was the sister and coworker of Emmeline Pankhurst. She was a cofounder of the Women's Social and Political Union, leading its south-east movement, and was imprisoned three times.

But Clarke has been forgotten: there is no public memorial to her anywhere in the country. She is not even included among the 59 suffragettes named on the plinth of the 2018 statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square.

"Mary was extraordinarily brave," said the campaign's leader, Jean Calder, who wants a statue of Clarke as a memorial not only of the woman herself but for all women and girls who have died as a result of domestic, sexual or state violence.

"At a time when domestic violence was condoned and divorce a matter of shame, Mary escaped an abusive marriage, during which she experienced destitution and homelessness," said Calder.

The Mary Clarke Statue Appeal has raised £20,000 for a statue by the same sculptor who created the Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis.