Physiotherapist & owner-manager of a home for disabled children

41

Widow

Brackenhill, 47 Highland Road, Bromley, Kent

WFL

Resists

Katherine Felicia Harvey (1870 - 1946) was also known as Catherine Harvey, Felicia Kate Harvey and Katherine Felicia Harvey. She was profoundly deaf, had been married to Frank Harvey with 3 daughters, but was widowed at a young age. She was a physiotherapist and an early practitioner of physical therapy with the disabled children she cared for. In that time, this was extremely unusual: society was such that women were not encouraged to work in the medical profession and certainly not in roles that required physical contact. Kate had a long history of association with the suffrage movement. In 1882, a meeting of the Bromley, Beckenham and Shortlands Women’s Suffrage Society was held at her house and she was secretary. The following year the Society held its first annual general meeting at her house. Kate was a leading member of the WFL from 1910, and in 1911 assisted leader Charlotte Despard with the King George V Women’s Coronation Procession. Kate and Charlotte Despard became close friends: recorded in Charlotte’s diary on 12 January 1912, is ‘the anniversary of our love’ which has caused much speculation as to the exact nature of Kate and Charlotte’s relationship. In the 1911 census, the enumerator wrote ‘House filled with suffragettes who refuse information.’ Kate was also a member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League (WTRL) and engaged in a 2-year battle with Kent County Council for refusing to pay a stamp to obtain a licence for her gardener. For 8-months’ Kate barricaded herself in her house to avoid being arrested. The barricade was broken by bailiffs and she was arrested. In August 1913, Kate refused to pay and was sentenced to 2-months’ in Holloway. Kate was the first person sentenced under the Insurance Act: protests were made about the inequality of Kate’s treatment in comparison to the fines imposed on men for the same offence. Kate only served 1-month of her sentence due to concerns for her health. She received a suffragist’s prison medal for her courage. For more information see, Jennifer Godfrey, Suffragettes of Kent, (Pen & Sword Ltd, 2019). Researched & contributed by Jennifer Godfrey.