Confidential

Mary Leigh

Convicted 22.9.09 [22 September 1909] assault police constable & malicious damage – Birmingham P. [Petty] Court 3 month H.L. [Hard Labour] & 1 month H.L. [Hard Labour] or pay £7.2.6.

Received at Birmingham 22.9.09 with six other suffragette prisoners – conduct insubordinate – Leigh being ring leader. She is a small wiry woman weight 105 lbs refused food.

25th Sept [September] – Fed twice by feeding cup resisted fiercely throughout.

26th Sept – Ditto – The milk & egg being put into pouch formed by pulling out the cheek.

27th Sept – Ditto – removed to hospital as she was always calling out to the other prisoners.

28th Sept – Ditto – broke 11 panes of glass & removed to padded cell.

29th Sept – Back to own hospital cell – fed as before

30th Sept – Ditto

1st October fed as before – taking food fairly well

2nd October Barricaded cell door & violent. Padded cell again.

3 October Struggles more & had to be fed by nasal tube

4th October Back to own cell – quieter

5th to 9th October Nasal tube twice a day a little retching occasionally

October 10th – sick after evening meal – weight 97 lbs

October 11th – Note ‘Had a good night & quite comfortable’ Extremities warm. P. [Pulse] quiet – sullen, will not show her tongue 12 – 14 – Ditto – but at the morning visit slipped out of bed & refused to go back, clinging to back of bestead – & had to be lifted back by officers. Some coughing when tube passed in the evening – nostril changed

15, 16 & 17 – Fed as before weight 95 lbs

October 18 – Broke cell window & barricaded door – placed in padded cell again – vomited about an hour after morning meal – Med [Medical] officer had strong suspicion that his was self produced.

Oct 19.20 Went on much the same back in own cell without furniture except mattress & bedding - & utensils only when in external use.

Oct 21 Much the same. Temp. [Temperature] 97.6 P [Pulse] 64 of air force – slept well – makes no complaint – extremities warm. Usually a slight regurgitation of about one egg cup full after each meal but no real sickness last day or two – efforts to increase diet not successful from liability to sickness.

October 22 Fed by nasal tube as usual. Has lost 2 ½ lbs in last week making 12 ½ lbs since admission. Slight decrease in force of pulse this morning. Med. Off. [Medical Officer] does not feel confident that it will be possible for her to complete her sentence without danger to life – her persistent silence is now a source of danger of complications arising & advancing without detection.

October 23 Losing ground – As she has refused to voluntarily to exercise last few days was forced to exercise yard & sat out for ¾ of hour – Fed three times at midday fought vigorously against use of tube, which was passed however without difficulty – now vomiting slightly after each meal

October 24 Still taciturn & still refused examination as far as she is able to prevent it. Temp. [Temperature] normal – vomited slightly after midday & evening meals no violent resistance to passing of tube today

October 25 & 26 Condition not noticeably changed. Temp. [Temperature] below normal, but extremities warm & pulse fair- vomiting continues to be embarrassing behaving well. October 27 Temp. [Temperature] normal. P. [Pulse] fair – vomits after each meal – amount does seem to bear any certain relation to quantity introduced. Still refused to answer question or to allow inspection of tongue or throat.

Oct 27 Temp. [Temperature] below normal P. [Pulse] rather less volume than last few days – vigour seams but little impaired.

Oct 28 Condition not satisfactory – vomited the whole of meal last night & though this morning meal reduced to valentines meat juice & water she was sick after – P. [Pulse] small 54 Temp [Temperature] 96° - lost another 2 lbs during past week or a total of 14 ½ lbs since reception.

Oct 29th Was seen in consultation with Dr. Jordan Lloyd – of Queen’s Hosp [Hospital] Birmingham – who stated that Mary Leigh in answer to questions says ‘I feel perfectly well & in my general health – I am quite happy & except for slight occasional pains in my chest & sickness I have no complaints to make’ But in as much as she is losing flesh & strength gradually and is not gaining the advantages she should do from the quantities of nourishment given to her, I am of opinion that she cannot under existing conditions complete the full term of her sentence.

I am informed that she has vomited some portion of her meals during the past 10 days and that this vomiting is becoming more frequent of late. So long as she persists in not taking nourishment by the natural method it is impossible to carry out the dietetic & medicinal measures which an irritable stomach demands.

In her present state I would point out that although there is no sign of any disease discoverable in her today there is some risk of her developing one of the maladies which are predisposed to by a lowered general vitality.

October 29th MO [Medical Officer] reported – Leigh has retained no food for 36 hours – and advised her immediate discharge Secretary of State decided to release her – and she was discharged at 2.30pm – She looked pale Temp. [Temperature] 96.2°In spite of this she walked briskly to the gate & showed no evidence of loss of energy conveyed in a cab to her friends in charge of an officer.

I have culled the above from the notes sent up from Birmingham. Leigh has been in Holloway [Prison] – and went on hunger strike in August 1909 i.e. prior to her term of imprisonment at Birmingham. She was not forcibly fed on this occasion – artificial feeding of the suffragettes was not then in vogue.

Leigh was one of the most difficult cases we have had to deal with. She is a most obstinate self-willed woman liable at times to outbreaks of violence at other times to be sullen & morose. She was not of the same social position to which many of her companions belonged and owing to the extremes to which she was willing to go in, what they term, forwarding their cause, she had been made much of by the leaders, which had flattered her vanity & making her reckless of danger to her own health or even of her life.

She is probably a woman who can go for long periods with little nourishment as witnessed by the energy she displayed on her discharge from Birmingham and possibly she retained more of the food administered than was imagined.

If the patient was again under my care under the same circumstances I should be inclined to suggest variation as to the means adopted for feeding – by cup – nasal and oesophageal tube & before introducing food, washing out of the stomach – after keeping her in the horizontal position with head on a low pillow, & preventing her from raising head from pillow for an hour afterwards.

I should endeavour by practical experience to find out the best temperature at which the food should be given & the character which is best borne without vomiting ditto the amount at each feed.

The character of the food given at Birmingham is not specially detailed, but as a rule milk sterilized or pasteurized with egg beaten up has been the chief base. Sometimes glucose, [masmon], Valentine’s meal juice, common salt etc. have been added and also aperients have been from time to time given as seemed to suggest themselves.

The idea prevailed at Birmingham that Leigh induced vomiting in the early stages but probably her stomach became irritable later which condition together with her own desires rendered the case difficult to deal with.

The above notes etc. are made with a hope they may be of service

[Ernest Hasler Helby, Medical Officer at Birmingham Prison in 1909]

5.9.12 [5th September 1912]