| Hunger Strike Medal | |
|---|---|
 Medal awarded to Myra Sadd Brown in 1912 | |
| Awarded by Women's Social and Political Union | |
| Established | August 1909 |
| Ribbon | Green, White, Purple |
| Motto | 'For Valour' |
| Criteria | Awarded by the to suffragette prisoners who had gone on hunger strike during their imprisonment. |
| Grades | Force-feeding – additional striped enamel bar |
| Statistics | |
| Total inductees | 81 known |
The Hunger Strike Medal was a silver medal awarded between August 1909[1] and 1914[2] to suffragette prisoners by the leadership of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). During their imprisonment, they went on hunger strike while serving their sentences in the prisons of the United Kingdom for acts of militancy in their campaign for women's suffrage. Many women were force-fed and their individual medals were created to reflect this.[2]
The WSPU awarded a range of military-style campaign medals to raise morale and encourage continued loyalty and commitment to the cause. The Hunger Strike Medals were designed by Sylvia Pankhurst and first presented by leadership of the WSPU at a ceremony in early August 1909 to women who had gone on hunger strike while serving a prison sentence. Later the medals would be presented at a breakfast reception on a woman's release from prison.[2]
- ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2006). The women's suffrage movement in Britain and Ireland: a regional survey. London: Routledge. p. 306. ISBN 0-415-38332-3. OCLC 59149398.
- ^ a b c "Six facts about Suffragette hunger strikes". Museum of London. Retrieved 8 March 2022.