Bessie Watson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bessie Watson
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Elizabeth Watson, aged nine
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| Born | 13 July 1900 Vennel, Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Died | 27 June 1992 (aged 91) Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | School teacher |
| Known for | Scottish child suffragette and piper |
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Elizabeth Watson (born July 13, 1900 – died June 27, 1992) was a brave Scottish girl who became a suffragette and a talented piper. A suffragette was someone who fought for women to have the right to vote. Bessie was very young when she joined this important movement.
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Bessie's Early Life
Bessie Watson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1900. Her father, Horatio Watson, was a bookbinder. When Bessie was about seven or eight years old, her parents encouraged her to learn to play the bagpipes. They hoped it would help make her lungs stronger. This was because her aunt had sadly passed away from tuberculosis, a lung disease. Bessie's first bagpipes were a special smaller size, made just for her.
Fighting for Women's Rights
Bessie and her mother learned about a special event called a pageant. This event was organized by Flora Drummond and the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). The WSPU was a group that worked hard for women's right to vote.
Playing the Pipes for Change
At just nine years old, Bessie was asked to play her bagpipes in the pageant. This big parade happened in Edinburgh on October 9, 1909. It marched down Princes Street and ended with a rally led by Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous leader of the suffragette movement. Bessie rode on a float during the parade.
A few weeks later, Christabel Pankhurst, another important suffragette leader, gave Bessie a special brooch. It showed Boudica, an ancient warrior queen. Many years later, in 1979, Bessie gave this brooch to Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to be the Prime Minister of the UK.
Leading Parades
Two years after the Edinburgh pageant, Bessie was asked to lead the Scottish women pipers in a huge parade in London. This was called the Great Pageant and took place on June 17, 1911. Later that same year, when King George V visited Edinburgh, Bessie led her Girl Guides group. The King even recognized her as she saluted him!
Bessie continued to be very active in the suffragette movement. She wore hair ribbons in the special colors of the campaign to school. She would play her pipes at Waverley Station as trains left, carrying women's rights campaigners who had been arrested. She also played outside Calton Jail to cheer up the suffragettes who were imprisoned there.
A Lasting Legacy
Many years later, on August 1, 2019, Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, unveiled a special plaque for Bessie. It was placed at Bessie's old home in Edinburgh. Nicola Sturgeon said that Bessie's actions helped pave the way for women in leadership, like herself.
Bessie's Piping Career
When Bessie was 14, she became the only female member of the Highland Piper's Society. She won many awards for her piping skills. She also started the Broughton School Pipe Band and led it for 27 years! Bessie loved playing the pipes and continued to play them every day, even when she was in her late 80s.
Bessie also studied French at the University of Edinburgh. She became a teacher, teaching violin and modern languages in schools across Edinburgh. In 1945, after World War II ended, she married John Somerville.
Bessie Watson passed away in Edinburgh in 1992, just before her 92nd birthday. She left her autobiography, practice chanter, and pipes to the College of Piping in Glasgow. Besides being a piper, Bessie was also a talented Highland dancer.
See also
In Spanish: Bessie Watson para niños
